Fast & Fit: Teresa’s Low-Fat, Super-Easy Italian Recipes by Teresa Giudice with Heather Maclean (Running Press, $18.95)
Teresa Giudice is the New Jersey-based bestselling author of “Skinny Italian,” a collection that proved that low-fat Italian food doesn’t have to be bland. With Heather Maclean, also from New Jersey, she presents a collection of recipes that underscores her belief that food can be fun, sexy, and delicious.
This cookbook serves up 70 recipes that feature dishes that are low-fat, easy and quick to prepare, and nutritious. The twelve chapters are Live It Up – I-Can’t-Believe’It’s-Not Fattening Food; Serve It Up – Amazing Antipasti; Soup It Up – Hot & Cold Comfort Food; Switch It Up – Low-Fat Italian Classics; Step It Up – Gourmet Entrees; Grill It Up – Sizzling Selections; Veg It Up – Vegetarian Meals & Side Dishes; Whip It Up – Extra Fast Food; Spice It Up – Some Like It Hot; Sex It Up – Romantic Meals; and Sweeten It Up – Free Desserts.
I tested two recipes from this collection. My first dish was the “Naked Chicken Parmesan,” which was delicious and a perfect supper to share with company. My second recipe was a spicy “Linguine Indiavolati,” kicked up a notch with cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes.
This is a fun cookbook. Most of the recipes seem fairly accessible. The two I tested were tasty and took only a few minutes of actual prep time. As Teresa would say, “This cookbook is FABULICIOUS!”
NAKED CHICKEN PARMESAN
Makes 4 servings
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ lbs)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 ½ cups of Quickie Tomato Sauce1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven t0 350F.
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until the undersides are browned, about 3 minutes. Flip the chicken over and brown the other sides, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
Pour the sauce (see below) into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Arrange the chicken breasts over the sauce in the dish. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of mozzarella and 1 tablespoon Parmesan over each chicken breast. Bake until the cheese is melted and the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer each portion to a dinner plate and spoon the sauce around the chicken.
THE QUICKIE TOMATO SAUCE
1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
I 28-oz can Italian plum tomatoes with their juices, chopped
¼ c tomato paste
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil

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