Melissa’s Menu: Two easy one-pot meals

Let’s face it, cooking dinner for yourself every night can be difficult and time-consuming, especially in college. If you’ve run out of ideas but are looking for a meal that’s both easy and healthy, look no further: This week’s Melissa’s Menu features two recipes that can be made using only one pot and are both convenient and easy to make. The first recipe is an Italian-inspired one-pot chicken mushroom florentine. The dish consists of pasta, chicken, veggies and cheese. It’s super creamy and delicious. The second recipe, pesto spaghetti and zucchini noodles, is a light, fresh vegetarian option. Both meals only take around 30 minutes to make, but will taste like they are straight from a five-star restaurant.

One-pot chicken mushroom florentine

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into one-inch pieces
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes
4 ounces of small mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon of flour
2 cups of chicken broth
1 and 1/2 cups of half and half
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
8 ounces of linguine, broken in half
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
2 cups of fresh baby spinach

Directions

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter and cook chicken until golden brown and no longer pink. Add the olive oil and cook the garlic, sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms until tender. Add in the flour and cook for another minute. Slowly add the chicken broth, half and half, salt, pepper and garlic powder and whisk until incorporated. Add the linguine and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Remove from the heat and add the parmesan cheese and spinach and stir until the spinach starts to wilt. Serve immediately.

Pesto spaghetti and zucchini noodles

Ingredients
1/2 pound of spaghetti
2 medium yellow zucchini (about one pound)
10 ounces of pesto
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Black pepper

Salt

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and generously season with salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Meanwhile, trim one end of each zucchini and insert flat end into a spiralizer. Zoodles will be extremely long, so cut them into approximately seven-inch pieces. Place in a colander and sprinkle with one tablespoon of salt, stir and then set aside. Add drained zoodles to spaghetti for the last minute of cooking time. Drain and transfer noodles back to the pot and mix in pesto. Transfer to a plate and top with parmesan and tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, garnish with pepper and serve.