Caprese Chicken…Carolyn's Way!

(photo credit to google images)

So, it's been a bit hectic around here this past week…but then again, when isn't it?

We knew we were going to be leaving for Highland's N.C. last week to spend the Fourth of July there with most of our children and I really wanted a good and quick dinner for just the two of us before we left. You see, I knew EXACTLY how much eating out we were about to do once we arrived in Highlands and I was trying to eat a somewhat light dinner the night before! 

( as well as use up some ingredients I already had on hand!) 

Also, Holly wanted me to give her this recipe for the two of them and I knew if I didn't go ahead and write it down it would be forever lost in this fuzzy, old brain of mine! 

Hope you like it! There are some really good shortcuts as well!

Caprese Chicken Carolyn's Way!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 Cup Italian Salad Dressing ( I used The Olive Garden's)

1 T Italian Herb Seasoning

1 T Grill Mate's Montreal Chicken Seasoning

2 T Olive Oil

*Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

*Oven Roasted Tomatoes

4-6 large fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 T Balsamic Vinegar

Directions

Whisk together the Italian Salad Dressing and both seasonings and pour over cleaned chicken breasts making sure both sides are covered in the marinade. Let marinate 4-6 hours.

When ready to cook turn oven on 425 degrees. 

Heat olive oil in an oven proof skillet. Drain off excess marinade and brown both sides of the chicken breasts and adding a little bit of the marinade as you cook. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Place skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Place your tomatoes on top and return to oven and bake 10 more minutes. Place mozzarella cheese on top and return to oven until cheese has melted. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar when it comes out of the oven. 

Sprinkle with the fresh basil and serve over pasta of choice.

*here are my shortcuts….I bought my roasted tomatoes and my fresh mozzarella at Whole Foods. I sliced the mozzarella since it was already in balls. 
They were doing a demo and we got sucked into it to say the least!

I needed to use some of this up so…Caprese Chicken was invented! You can certainly roast your own tomatoes in the oven but these had the most wonderful flavor I've ever tasted! 
I hope you enjoy! 

Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

p.s. this does serve four so I always send my leftovers home with Miller when he goes back to Auburn! 

Caponata Casserole

Ever wonder what to do with all of those fresh veggies you are either growing or have bought out of sheer delight at a farmer's market and then you get home and realize…Oh, wow….

What was I thinking?

Well, that happened to me recently and here's what I came up with…everything was from our garden except for the mushrooms.

                    

Oh, and a few Creole Tomatoes that I picked up on our way out of New Orleans!

Love these chocolate tomatoes! They are so yummy!

Here are all of the veggies and garlic, cut up, tossed in EVOO as Rachael says, sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper and some red pepper flakes as well.

Here are the veggies after roasting!

Fresh basil was added at the end.

And, BAM! You have yourself pretty much all of the ingredients for this yummy dish! Miller never even realized there wasn't any meat in it! He finished it off the next day for lunch as well!

Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes….turned into Caponata Casserole!

3-4  japanese eggplant (cut into bite sized pieces)
3 tomatoes
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
6 medium sized chocolate tomatoes or other heirloom
1 package sliced mushroomskosher salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (diced) optional
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
fresh basil, torn or cut up (about 15 leaves)
Homemade Marinara Sauce or favorite brand (about 1 cup)1 pound pasta ( I used whole wheat)
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Parmesan Cheese


Roast your veggies, minced garlic and red pepper flakes as shown above at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want them to be good and done! Cook your pasta and toss with a small amount of olive oil to prevent sticking. Toss warm pasta with the cheeses and fresh basil and then scrape all of the roasted veggies in as well, including all of the juices from the pan. Add as much marinara sauce as you would like. Place in a greased casserole dish and top with more parmesan cheese. Bake covered for 30 minutes and then uncover and bake until bubbly and all cheese is melted. I also served some marinara on the side mainly because I thought Miller wasn't going to love it and really did like it! So use your own judgement on that one! 

Hope you enjoy!!

Soul Food Squash

After many wonderful meals during Easter and just going out with all of our "grown children" it just seemed fitting to try and have some grilled chicken and some veggies! I was trying to remember where I had first gotten the recipe for Soul Food Squash so I spent about 2 hours researching it, etc…Finally, something jogged my memory and I found it on my Recipe Page on my blog! Go figure? What was it doing on the recipe page! I think at that time I thought I would keep all of my recipes on that one page on the blog and leave the blog for other topics! Boy was I wrong! I have now moved it to it's rightful spot and I hope you will give it a try and enjoy a semi healthier version of the usual southern squash casserole!

 Instead of sautéing the squash in a stick of butter and onions you simply steam it in water! ( Who knew?)

Of course I couldn't resist the kosher salt, pepper and yes…I cheated! 2 t of sugar! My mother in law taught me well and she taught me early…if you want to bring out the flavor in fresh vegetables…add sugar! Again…(Who knew?)

Then, I think the reason this recipe is really good is because you are basically making your own stewed tomatoes…YUMMY!!! So easy and so fresh!

 I cut up my squash the night before and steamed it…then refrigerated it. I also chopped my tomatoes and put them in my pan the night before. Then, I just had to add the flour and the seasonings the next day to stew them…that was a huge help to me in my busy work day!

 Then you simply layer the squash, stewed tomatoes….

And a handful of mozzarella cheese…and of course, I added some parmesan as well!

 Sorry the pictures aren't that great! I was trying for Miller's girlfriend not to see me being the weird mom! You know, that mom that takes pictures of everything she's cooking…I would've thought it was weird at that age for sure!! In fact, I really still do!

Ok…we are getting close! The squash and tomatoes are layered along with the cheeses…now it's just time to bake!

How yummy does this look? I hate that my pictures are so bad! Next time I will get Jim to distract Miller and Sarah and they will never know that I take pictures of all of my food! WOW!! Maybe I need to be on something for this disorder!

Instead, I will just enjoy it..it is my hobby! And you will just keep it to yourself if you think it's weird! LOL! Seriously, though…I hope you will try this! Especially with summer approaching faster than I want it to…(for a lot of reasons!) And all of the fresh vegetables we will be able to enjoy! There's really nothing quite like Squash and Tomatoes…No matter how you fix them!

Soul Food Squash and Tomato Casserole

2 lbs yellow squash, sliced

1 C water

3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped with juice retained

1 T all-purpose flour

2 t sugar

1 t kosher salt

1 t paprika

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t black pepper

2 C shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2-1 C parmesan cheese

Combine the squash and water in a large saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer on low until tender. Drain and set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine tomatoes, flour, sugar, salt, paprika, garlic powder and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir well....turn heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Place half of squash in a prepared ( greased) shallow 2 quart casserole dish. Pour 1/4 of tomato mixture over squash and spread gently...won't look like enough but it is! Top with 1 C shredded mozzarella cheese, and another 1/4 of the tomato mixture. Repeat layers with the remaining squash, tomato mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the top with the parmesan cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

 Reheats very well!! Serves 8

* I was skeptical that this would be good as to how I'm used to making squash casserole with mayo, sour cream, cheddar cheese, eggs....cracker crumbs, butter...etc...! This doesn't take it's place but it was incredible! Miller's comment was "If I have to eat squash...this is the best way!" It's so much less fattening and it tastes every bit as delicious!

I hope you love it!

we had it tonight with Lemon Chicken Kabobs and an easier version of my Couscous with Roasted Vegetables. This time…I left out the roasted vegetables! Oh my, how easy was this!! I did everything the same except for that and it was still divine! Especially with the kabobs and that lemon butter sauce!
Having leftovers tomorrow night! Can't wait!

Have fun cooking and take pictures when you can! You'll be glad later!

Spring Forward!

 Spring Is Here!!! And I For One Am Loving It!!!

And soon... everything will be coming up roses!!!

Well, now that is a stretch but everything is coming up, that's for sure!

Mostly just everyday life! 

But just take a look around you! It's right there in all of our own back yards!

The beauty of Springtime!

The Roses, the Jasmine, the Day Lilies, the Dogwood trees, etc....

Aren't these climbing roses beautiful! These are actually in Brad's grandmother's yard...lovingly planted by Coach Walker...an avid gardener! I sure could've learned a lot from him! About a lot of things!

I just love his gardens...

And Easter is just around the corner! What a glorious reason to celebrate and trust in God's provisions for us!

There is really nothing prettier than any "climbing" flower in my opinion!

Especially my Cecile Brunner roses! I planted them ages ago and won't even re-paint our garden shed for fear of losing them!

And look at these snapdragons! They just make me happy!

The Dogwood is the ultimate symbol of Spring to me!

I love the fact that I actually do have perennials and that I'm learning what to do with them!

Oh, and then there are my fig trees! I'm definitely still learning about them!

Maybe one day I can make fig preserves! We shall see!

Love this one, lonely rose! It's trying so hard to bloom!

Reminds me of the saying, "Bloom where you are planted!"

Just like my hydrangeas that are struggling to come out of hibernation!

And our Lenten Roses! A breath of fresh air after a long season of nothingness!

And yes, I snuck this photo from my across the street neighbor's yard! Isn't it pretty?

 And here we go...finishing on this note! Spring time is to me what chocolate is to a lot of women! It's the time that I get to begin dreaming of my perfect garden! "One day"....that's what I always say to sweet Jim! "One day...I want the perfect garden!" What I've never realized until recently is that what I really want...is the perfect gardener! I love the look of a perfect garden!!! Who doesn't? 

Last year we dealt with this pesky little rabbit if you will remember!

Hopefully he will have moved on to another neighbor's yard this spring...but I doubt it! We shall see! For now I will still dream...and dream big!!! There is nothing wrong with that!!!!

Here is my dream garden!

Or should I say, "Dream Gardens"!

Enjoy!

Maybe this year we will have something to show for it!!!

Thankfully last year we at least had a few Zinnias!

And a few Tomatoes!

 No matter! Spring is a wonderful breath of fresh air to me! I hope it is to you as well! 

Happy planting! and enjoy every minute of God's beautiful creation...Spring Time!