As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I started my own show to show everyone how to prepare a simple and quick healthy dish at home. Each episode is only 3-4 min and there is only a total of 6 episodes, so I thought it’s pretty hard for me to show everyone a lot of different dishes or combinations. So I decided to just create a new category in my blog, “JO AND BO COOKS” to share healthy recipes that we prepare at home in the form of blog posts, you’re very welcome =)

Yesterday we cooked aglio olio & grilled chicken breast at home because we were too lazy to go out for dinner and we have leftover ingredients at home. The thing I like about aglio olio is that it’s the easiest dish ever and the ingredients can be kept at home for a while so you dont have to rush to the supermarket the night before. Just keep them at home and cook it whenever you like!

Aglio Olio & Grilled Chicken Breast!

Ingredients:

Broccoli, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, dried chili flakes, pasta, chicken breast, Parmesan cheese (not in the picture).

Clean and cut all the vege into even pieces so they cook evenly.

Pat dry and marinate your chicken breast with salt and pepper.

Boil the broccoli and to save time, remove the vege and boil the pasta in the same pot of water with a bit of salt.

I prefer it to be a little under cooked. The secret of cooking the perfect pasta is to keep trying it hahahaha, but just take a bite, not eat a big mouthful!

Drain the pasta but remember to reserve a bowl of pasta-cooking water, u will need it to cook the sauce later! It contains starch and it will thicken the sauce later on.

Set your pasta and other ingredients aside. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat then add garlic  and cook till golden brown. Add in chili flakes, and slowly pour in the reserved pasta- water, add a bit of salt then let it boil for another 5 min or until the water is reduced by half!

Side note- If u’re adding vege like mine into the pasta, put all the vege in now and stir for 1 min.

Then turn down the heat then it’s about time to add in the pasta! Stir it a bit and make sure the pasta absorbs the sauce.  Last but not least, add in Parmesan cheese and toss!

Now to pan fry the chicken breast, just make sure you put a tea spoon of oil and heat it up. Once the oil is hot, put in the chicken breast and cook for around 2- 3 min each side! Don’t poke or prod the breasts if not you will lose all the juices! You know its done when the surface is hard and then the inner layer is firm. If the surface is hard but the inner layer is still soft/squishy, cook a little longer.

There you go, the simple and healthy dinner at home!

The trick to be more healthy is to control the portion of pasta, I usually eat more vege than pasta so I can still enjoy it without feeling too stuff with carbs!

To make your meal to be even more enjoyable on a hot weather, I drink soda water with a slice of lemon and a lot of ice! This is another healthy option for those who love soda drinks but in a healthier way!

I hope you enjoy reading this =)

♥