Grilled Chicken Caprese Sandwiches

The magazine companies are on to me. I subscribed to CookingLight about a year ago. Since then, I've been inundated with other magazine subscription offers - Everyday with Rachael Ray, Food Network Magazine, People, Parents, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens.... they all want me. I feel so popular.

The sad thing about this is that if it's a magazine I'm even somewhat interested in, and the deal is good, I'll probably subscribe. My husband tells me "oh, but honey, you can get those recipes online." Which is true. But looking them up online is nowhere near as fun as getting a fresh new magazine in the mail every month. I like to think I have the self-control to know when it's time to stop (and hey, I turned down Parents magazine, even though it was truly a great deal. That's gotta count for something, right? Nevermind that I have no children or need for such a magazine).

I made these sandwiches when my tomatoes and basil were at their absolute peak - before the fall weather officially arrived and far before I had to start bringing my plants in at night for fear of frost (I'm not a fan of this weather). You should make them and enjoy them while the you still have access to fresh tomatoes and basil.

Grilled Chicken Caprese Sandwiches
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
4-6 chicken tenders
Italian dressing, for marinading
2 Roma tomatoes
1-2 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper
6ish leaves fresh basil
Mozzarella cheese slices
baguette

DIRECTIONS
Marinade the chicken tenders in Italian dressing for at least a few hours. Cut the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt & pepper.

Pre-heat the broiler.

Grill the chicken till cooked through (3-5 min per side or so) and grill the tomatoes till soft.

Meanwhile, cut the baguette in half, length-wise, and put slices of mozzarella. Right before the chicken is done, place the bread under the broiler until the cheese melts and starts to get bubbly.

Cut the basil into little ribbons.

Place the chicken on top of the bread, then top with tomato and fresh basil.

Chicken in Roasted Tomato Pan Sauce

Sometimes I think I shouldn't be allowed at the Farmer's Market. When I get there, I all of a sudden think I'm a hippie nature girl that will have no problem eating tons of vegetables. So, I buy several baskets of tomatoes.... and then realize that only one of the two of us in my household actually likes tomatoes (and that one would not be me). There's something about the texture. I like them cooked, but raw is another thing. I considered buying "rainbow" carrots. I even considered buying some fresh broccoli, until I reminded myself that I think the stuff tastes like grass.

Anyway, back to the tomatoes. I used most of them to make homemade tomato sauce, but when you combine the leftover two with the abundance of ripe tomatoes in my back yard, I needed something to do with them, and quickly. So, I came across this recipe and thought it would be a tasty way to use up those tomatoes. And it was. The sauce was practically jumping with the flavor of the roasted tomatoes and when combined with the hint of dijon mustard, it created the perfect amount of tang. When you add it to the chicken, it was one very delicious, very late-summery dinner.

Seared Chicken Breasts in Roasted Tomato Pan Sauce
Recipe from Food Network, adapted
Serves 4
Prep Time - 5 minutes
Cook Time - 25 min

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium tomatoes 
• 2 TBSP canola oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 TBSP dijon mustard
• 1 TBSP chopped fresh basil
• 3 TBSP salted butter, cut into pieces
• 
  
• DIRECTIONS
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 
• 
  
• Cut the tomatoes into quarters and place them onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with canola oil and then season with salt & pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, or until they're nice and soft.
• 
  
• Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet to medium heat and add 1-2 TBSP canola oil. Season the chicken with salt & pepper on both sides. When the pan is heated, add the chicken to the pan and cook until brown on both sides and cooked through, probably about 3-5 minutes per side. When the chicken is done, remove from the pan and place on a plate. Tent with foil if you want.
• 
  
• If you have a lot of excess oil in your pan, drain off most of it. Add the chicken stock to the pan to deglaze and scrape up any brown bits.  Add the mustard to the pan and whisk together. 
• 
  
• Add the tomatoes and any juices from the baking sheet to the pan. Mash up the tomatoes with a potato masher. Add the basil and stir to combine. 
• 
  
• Once everything is combined, add the butter and stir it in. 
• 
  
• Return the chicken breasts to the pan and let cook for just a couple of minutes to get the flavors to meld a little. 
• 
  
• Serve the chicken with sauce on top.
• 
  

Chicken in Tomato Cream Sauce

My tomatoes this year are doing pretty well. I planted a bunch of seeds from a variety pack, so I really had no idea what I'd be getting when I planted them. It's so much fun to see them grow and ripen. One of my plants is a little yellow cherry tomato plant. For my first harvest from that plant, I decided to make some sort of sauce. A while back, I saved a recipe from Savory Spicy Sweet for Chicken Pomodoro and used that for inspiration to come up with this chicken in a creamy tomato sauce. It's delicious and I'm sure it'll be a hit at your house.


Chicken in Tomato Cream Sauce
Serves 2-4
Prep Time - 15-20 min
Cook Time - 15 min

INGREDIENTS
4 chicken cutlets, butterflied and pounded thin (I used 2, but there was enough sauce for 4)
flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
2 TBSP canola oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup + 1 cup chicken broth, divided
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 cups tomatoes, chopped (I used a combination of fresh and canned)
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I'm sure any dairy liquid would work)
A few leaves of basil, chopped or torn


DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a big pan over medium heat. Dredge the cutlets in flour seasned with salt & pepper. Saute the cutlets a few minutes per side, until cooked through.

Remove from the pan and cover with foil.

Add onions and garlic to the pan and saute for a few minutes, or until the onions begin to get translucent. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth to de-glaze the pan and cook until the chicken broth has almost evaporated. Add the rest of the broth, lemon juice, and tomatoes. Add the cutlets back to the pan and cook for one minute per side.

Put the cutlets on plates and finish the sauce with the yogurt and basil. Stir till combined and cook just a minute or two. Top the chicken with the sauce to serve.

Green Beans with Olive Oil & Garlic

Hello, there. Remember me? Contrary to any rumors you may have heard, I haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth. In fact, I've been cooking quite a bit. I'm very excited to share this post with you, not because I think it's the beacon of culinary genius, but because it's made (almost) entirely with ingredients from my garden. This last week, I was able to pick some green beans! I decided they'd be the perfect companion to the beer can chicken my husband was grilling. And they were. So I picked them, and they were on my plate less than 20 minutes after I picked them.

By the way, have you made beer can chicken yet? If you haven't, what are you waiting for? I told you weeks ago to make it.


Green Beans with Olive Oil & Garlic
Serves 2
Total Cook & Prep Time - 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
Green Beans
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (this was from my garden, too!)
olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
grated parmesan cheese, if desired

DIRECTIONS
Wash & trim the green beans. Boil them or steam them for just a few minutes, or until they get bright green.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small skillet and sautee the garlic until it gets soft & mellow.

Once the garlic is done, add the green beans to the skillet (I started them both at the same time and the green beans & garlic took about the same amount of time). Toss till combined. Add salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Rhubarb Pie

With this post, I'd like to introduce what I hope to be a new segment on this blog called "Stuff I Made with Stuff I Grew in my Backyard." Yep, that's right - I have a garden this year. I'm very excited. My first creation from my homegrown goods was a rhubarb pie.

I grew up eating rhubarb and I love it. When baked, it's somewhat similar in taste to an apple, but softer and more tart. It pairs well with berries, but I prefer it on its own. It's very easy to work with, too. When picked out of the garden, it should look like this:


Don't be alarmed... your pile should be that size. Trim off the leaves. Don't be alarmed if some of your apparently mature rhubarb stalks are more green than red - they taste the same as the deep pink ones, they just aren't as pretty. Don't eat the leafy greens. Be sure to wash the stalks well. When you're all done with that, they should look like this:


Isn't that better? Cut them up into little pieces like you would chop up celery.

For this pie, I used my regular apple pie recipe, but used rhubarb instead of apples and coated them in a bit more cinnamon & sugar than normal. The result is an amazing pie.


You must try it right away.