Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Zucchini Time

No trip to the store, no recipe in hand, no clue what to make... no problem!  I threw this de-LITE-full little number together in no time with just what I had in the fridge.  I had some great fresh zucchini (who doesn't this time of year, right?) that I picked up at the corner fruit stand to started with, the rest just kinda happened from there.  Lucky for me it worked, so I thought I'd pass it on to you.

Ingredients
Pasta of your choice - I used whole wheat rotini
Chicken - grilled, rotisserie, or which ever method you prefer
3 Zucchini, halved lengthwise & sliced
1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced
Can of Diced Tomatoes
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbls EVOO
1/4 Cup White Wine, chicken broth or water
1 - 2 Tbls Balsamic Vinegar
Feta
House Seasoning or Salt & Pepper

Prepare chicken, set aside.  (If you'd like to know how I did and usually do my chicken, see Note* below.)

Prepare pasta according to directions while you do the following.

In a large saute pan heat EVOO, add onions & salt.  Cook about 2 min.  Add zucchini, garlic, seasoning, white wine & seasoning.  Cook until zucchini is tender.  Add tomatoes (do not drain) and balsamic vinegar.  Simmer about 1 min.

Place pasta on a platter, top with zucchini mixture, chicken & a generous amount of crumbled feta.  Enjoy!


*Note: How I always prep my boneless, skinless breasts.  I split them in half as if I'm going to butterfly them, but I go all the way through turning 2 servings into 4.  (This cuts down on portion size and calories, but we eat with our eyes & since the breast LOOKS about the same our tummies don't really miss the other half.)  Don't worry if you mess up, since you aren't actually butterflying them neatness doesn't really count. 

Another easy option, keep a bag of these babies in your freezer!  You can get one at Costco for around $16 & it seriously lasts a long time.  They are the little Breast Tenderloins so they defrost in no time.  I can pull a couple out of the freezer if I don't have any full breasts on hand, run them under a little cool water & they are ready to go by the time I have the rest of my prep done. 

You don't need to spit these if you don't feel comfortable with that. Just continue on to the next step.

I season them well on each side with my "House Seasoning" and pound them flat if need.  Into a hot pan, no oil – just a little Pam sprayed in and wiped out, for a quick sear on each side until done. This takes just a few minutes since your chicken is thinner and of uniform thickness.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds delicious! Don't you love it when you can randomly make up something great on your own?

    ReplyDelete