No Whine with Dinner: Bowtie Pasta with Feta Cheese & Lemon Pepper Chicken

by The Meal Makeover Moms on April 2nd, 2010

Here at Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen we encourage families to cook at home and eat together.  So when we discovered the blog, Eat at Home, we couldn’t wait to read it.  The tagline for Eat at Home is Everyday Food for Busy People. Written by Tiffany, a mother of four (18-year old Meredith, 15-year old Peter, 11-year old Isaac, and 7-year old Mia), Eat at Home helps families put dinner on the table … so they don’t have to spend lots of money eating out.

Since we liked her blog so much, we asked Tiffany to participate in our No Whine with Dinner Q&A guest post and to share a recipe that all her children love.   She chose Bowtie Pasta with Feta Cheese & Lemon Pepper Chicken, a recipe she created a few years ago and one that became an instant family favorite.  We think you’ll like it!

Bowtie Pasta with Feta Cheese & Lemon Pepper Chicken

Makes About 8 Servings

  • 3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  • Lemon pepper seasoning
  • One, 16-ounce box dried bowtie pasta
  • 1 small bunch broccoli, chopped
  • 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
  • 2 to 3 carrots, chopped or ½ bag baby carrots
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 6 to 8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 ½ cups half & half, warmed

1. Season the chicken on both sides with lemon pepper seasoning.  Grill until cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water according to the package directions.  If you have a pot that’s big enough, you can add the veggies to the pasta during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.  If not, steam the veggies in a small amount of water in another pot.

3. Drain the pasta and veggies.  Stir in the butter, feta cheese and half & half.  Slice the grilled chicken into thin strips and serve along with the pasta.  Serve the lemon pepper seasoning at the table for those who want more on their pasta.

Note: I used to buy the bags of fresh veggies meant to steam in the microwave, but I’ve noticed that the bags have gotten much smaller in recent years.

Print Recipe

Q: What do you like about this recipe?
A: I love the flavor combination of this dish.  The lemon pepper is bright and the veggies are fresh.  Pasta is one of my family’s favorite types of food, so this dish is a hit.

Q: What do your kids think about this recipe?
A: Because the recipe combines some of their favorite vegetables, pasta, and chicken I think it was a good way to introduce them to the new flavors of feta cheese and the lemon pepper seasoning. We are a homeschooling family and are often home for lunch.  We make it a habit to eat up the leftovers at lunch.  Now that the kids are older, there aren’t as many leftovers … sometimes only a serving or two.  The kids will “call” a serving of this for their lunch.  Anything kids willingly eat as a leftover is good, especially when it is healthy too.

Q: Other than the fact that this recipe makes everyone in your family happy, do you have any other tips you’d like to share with fellow parents for taking the “whine” out of dinner?
A: Some kids are naturally picky and others will try most anything.  I’ve got two of each of those types.  I’m sad to report that I’ve not been able to turn the picky kids into adventurous eaters.  But as they’ve gotten older, they like to experiment in the kitchen especially with spice combinations.  I think this helps broaden their tastes.

Although we do insist our kids eat enough variety of foods to have a balanced diet, we don’t have hard and fast rules.  I try to fix veggies that they like, but also introduce new things every so often.  And there are some foods that a child just won’t eat.  I respect that.  One of my sons really doesn’t like shrimp.  I don’t force him to eat it, but it doesn’t keep me from fixing it for the rest of us occasionally.  He can eat the other part of the meal and is free to snack on other foods to fill him up.  I don’t fix alternate foods if a child is just being picky, versus truly not liking a food they have tried.  Thankfully, it all becomes easier as they get older.

Q: Please provide a brief description of your blog:
A: Eat at Home provides recipes, menus and complete grocery lists to help families put dinner on the table fast.  The meals are easy, use common ingredients and are kid friendly.

Note from The Moms:  Janice made this recipe for her family the other night, and it was a huge hit!  Leah went back for seconds, and everyone enjoyed it reheated the next day.  The Bissex family will definitely be making it again!

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8 Comments | Filed Under NoWhineWithDinner, Pasta, PickyEaters, Poultry, Vegetables 

8 Responses to “No Whine with Dinner: Bowtie Pasta with Feta Cheese & Lemon Pepper Chicken”

  1. momgateway on April 2nd, 2010

    I use lemon pepper seasoning a lot–it adds some freshness and oomph to chicken and salmon. This is a very practical and nutritious recipe!

  2. Tiffany on April 2nd, 2010

    Thanks so much for letting me do this interview with you!

  3. Kristin on April 2nd, 2010

    I just posted on FB about this…. I cannot wait to test this recipe!

  4. Wendy Jo Peterson on April 2nd, 2010

    I am salivating just reading this!

  5. Meal Makeover Moms Interview | Eat at Home on April 3rd, 2010

    [...] Makeover Moms’ Kitchen for their No Whine with Dinner series.  You can read the interview here.  They have lots of good info about kids and nutrition, as well as good [...]

  6. Rana on April 3rd, 2010

    Stopping by from Eat at Home. Great interview, and I can’t wait to try this recipe..

  7. pepper mills on December 6th, 2010

    While we are discussing about topics relevant to No Whine with Dinner: Bowtie Pasta with Feta Cheese & Lemon Pepper Chicken | Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen, Peppers are also used to treat a wide variety of health conditions which include poor circulation, heart disease, weak digestion, sore throats, chronic pains, weak digestion as well as tooth and head aches. If you take Cayenne Pepper with your everyday diet, it could help improve the flow of your stomach secretions as well as saliva. It also helps sooth the digestive tract.

  8. Meal Planning Monday–new recipes on June 10th, 2012

    [...] Chicken, egg noodles, green beansWednesday–Sausage and Peppers, rolls, saladThursday–Bowtie Pasta with Feta Cheese & Lemon Pepper Chicken (this looks great since it has veggies and pasta right in the pot, an all-in-one [...]

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