Grilled Chicken Cutlets with Zucchini, Corn & Cherry Tomato Sauce

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!

I just have to say – my shoulders are SO SORE from yesterday’s workout.

HOLY. OW.

But, like I said yesterday, I’d totally do it all over again.

Anyway, I absolutely must share a recipe with you.

MUST!

I made this for dinner last night.  I seriously felt like the luckiest person in the world.

So. Flippin. Good.

It’s a Rachael Ray 30-minute meal recipe which means it’ll take you about 45 minutes unless you have a whole kitchen staff hiding behind you ready to chop things the minute the cameras are turned off.

Seriously, I have no idea how she makes things happen in a 30-minute show unless stuff is just cooked enough to look cooked.

Regardless of her witchery, this one is totally worth it!

I paired it with some roasted Yukon Gold taters (Thing 2 took over that part for me) but you could totally do sweet taters if you want.

As a matter of fact, that’s what I have in my lunch today.

Jealous?  You should be.

Om. Nom. Nom.

Grilled Chicken Cutlets with Zucchini, Corn & Cherry Tomato Sauce
serves 4

1 lemon, zested and 1/2 juiced
4 cloves garlic, grated (or pressed, if it’s easier)
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6-8 ounces each)
Salt and pepper
2 ears corn, kernels cut from the cob (I used about 3/4 cup of frozen corn kernels)
2 small or 1 medium zucchini – halved lengthwise, seeded and diced
1 bunch scallions, whites sliced and greens reserved for another use
1 small red chile pepper, such as Fresno, seeded and finely chopped, or about 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 cup loosely packed fresh herbs, such as mint, parsley, tarragon or basil, chopped
4 cups baby arugala (I used arugula/baby spinach blend)
fresh parmesan or peccorino romano cheese, shaved into curls with a vegetable peeler, for garnish

1. In a shallow dish, combine the lemon zest and juice with half the garlic, 3-4 tablespoons of the olive oil and the thyme. *Note, if you didn’t pay attention and used ALL the garlic, it’s okay. In fact, it’s fabulous! Just grab a couple of extra cloves for later when you need more. 🙂

2. Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-high (or use your ginormous cast iron skillet).

3. Butterfly the chicken pieces by cutting into them horizontally without going all the way through, open like a book, and then pound into thin cutlets; season with salt and pepper. Turn them in the lemon-thyme marinade. Let stand. *Unless you have a meat tenderizer, the best way is to place the chicken breast between two pieces of wax paper and use a rolling pin.  You could use a mallet, if you don’t have a rolling pin. Just make sure you wash it first.

4. Meanwhile, in a large skillet (see #2), heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn and lightly brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, scallion whites, chile pepper, and the remaining garlic to the corn; season. Cook to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the butter and stir to melt, creating a creamy sauce. Remove the zucchini-corm sauce fron the heat and toss with the tomatoes and herbs. *I added the tomatoes to the pan for about 2 minutes to give them a little sear and soften them a little. I thought it was excellent!

5. Grill the chicken 3 to 4 minutes on each side, then transfer to plates.

6. Top each chicken cutlet with a cup of the baby arugula/spinach and some of the warm zucchini-corn sauce. Top with the parmesan curls.

7. NOM!

Questions:

1. Do you own a meat tenderizer? Do you know what one looks like?

2. Are you down with leftovers for lunch the next day or do you save them for a dinner later in the week?

3. What do you think I should do with the other half of the lemon?

– jennifer

Some random stuff and Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie

I was able to hit the Fresh Market this past weekend. I stocked up. Um, can you say addicted? 🙂

I may have mentioned that I have created my own cookbook from recipes found in magazines, the newspaper, and the internet. That is a project I’ve been working on for the past year or so. It’s coming along quite nicely, I think.

I grab these binders and flip through them, usually while I’m eating breakfast. I use those little sticky flags to mark my pages of the upcoming week’s recipes. Sometimes, Ginny…. aka my supervisor…

decides to remove those sticky flags for me. She’s so helpful. Anyway, one of the recipes I recently made was found in my handy dandy notebook. It came from an old Cooking Light magazine. A very old magazine. Like….1998. Did I mention I’m the wife of a sailor? Yeah, that means that magazine has moved around a lot. What? Packrat? Who, me? 🙂

A recipe from the book – no idea the year. Who doesn’t love pot pie? It’s everything that is good in the world all together in one simple dish. Make it quick, easy and healthy and you’ve achieved dinner nirvana. Pull up your chair and grab your fork. You’re definitely going to want to dig in to this one!

Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie
Yield: 6 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 lb ground sirloin
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 package (8 ounces) sliced mushrooms*
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 can (14-ounce) reduced-fat, low-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons water
Cooking spray
1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated soft breadstick dough

*mushrooms = EW
If you feel the same way, you can certainly leave them out. I substituted yellow squash.
Yellow squash = YUM

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel. Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in pan. Add zucchini and next 6 ingredients (through garlic); sauté 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Return beef to pan. Stir in wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and broth. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes. Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3. Spoon beef mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Separate breadstick dough into strips. Arrange strips in a lattice fashion over beef mixture. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until browned.

Per serving:
Calories 313; Fat 8.5g (saturated 1.7g, mono 3.0g, poly 0.7g); Protein 22g; Carb 37.6g; Fiber 2.7g; Sodium 679mg; Cholesterol 40

Recipe from Cooking Light

King Kong 1.0 and Succotash Veggie Chili

Good morning! If you’re reading this on your computer, what do you think of my new layout? I’m just trying out something different. Thoughts?

This morning’s CrossFit workout was, as Gil put it, short and to the point. Uh, yeah. Point taken. This WOD is tough!

I mean, seriously. It’s called King Kong, for crying out loud! And this girl hasn’t done muscle-ups or handstand pushups before. Yikes! But, I wouldn’t go if I didn’t want to improve so, to this workout I said, “yes, please.” And, *pats self on back*, I survived! I managed jumping muscle-ups (once you figure out the mechanics of keeping your elbows in tight to your body, they become doable – still HARD but doable) and I survived the banded handstand pushups! Those are really tough freakin’ ridiculous and require complete confidence in your equipment and a belief in yourself and your ability to push your head back up off the floor. Holy. Cow. I also learned that I can deadlift 120 pounds and that I canNOT deadlift 135 pounds. So, new goal. I will work towards that weight. I’m not disappointed that I couldn’t – hell, I’m still so new that practically everything is a PR! – but, it gives me something to work towards. 🙂

Dinnertime!

I subscribe to a variety of food/cooking magazines. I can’t help it. I love them. I’m always searching for new recipes to try and new things to serve my family. We don’t want to get stuck in a rut and eat the same things over and over. I’m sort of a vegetarian in that I. Love. Vegetables. Except Brussels sprouts and mushrooms. I don’t love those. At all. And, I’m only in like with peas and lima beans. So, anyway, when I came across this recipe, I just knew I had to make it. And, I’m so glad I did! Delicious, fresh veggies hanging out with a flavorful tomato “soup” all day? Om nom nom!

Succotash Veggie Chili
Serves 10-12

1 can (28 ounce) whole peeled tomatoes, with juices
1 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cans (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed
2 zucchini, cut into small dice
3 large red, yellow or green bell peppers, cut into small dice
1 large red onion, finely onion
1 jalapeno chile, minced (no seeds or membranes)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 pound frozen corn, thawed
1 pound frozen baby limas, thawed

1. In a large bowl, mash together the tomatoes with their juices, tomato paste, lime juice, 1 1/2-teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the cumin.

2. In a large slow cooker, stir together the beans, zucchini, bell peppers, onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Pour the tomato mixture on top. Cover and cook on low heat until the vegetables are tender but still retain their color and shape, 4 to 6 hours (four if you prefer your vegetables more al dente; six if you like them more cooked through).

3. Stir the corn and lima beans into the chili and let sit for a couple of minutes to warm them up. Serve the chili with all the toppings (sour cream, shredded monterey jack, shredded cheddar, diced avocado, lime wedges, and chopped cilantro, if desired).

Recipe from