Balsamic Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, Onions, & Chickpeas

Fire-Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes and Onions

Fire-Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes, Onions, & Chickpeas
Recipe Type: Healthy, Vegetarian
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Author: Claire McCormick
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
An easy summer go-to dinner packed with protein and bursting with flavor! Serve with your steamed leafy greens of choice and chicken if desired!
Ingredients
  • 1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and sliced into quarters
  • 1 onion, sliced thinly
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp good balsamic vinegar
  • 1 large bunch fresh kale, steamed with a few drops of red wine vinegar
  • Cooked chicken breast (I rubbed a little olive oil and some creamy peppercorn dressing seasoning onto it before cooking from frozen)
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa (I roasted my uncooked quinoa first)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Feta cheese, to taste
Instructions
  1. Mix tomatoes, onion slices, garlic, garbanzo beans, basil, rosemary, and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Pour over tomato mixture and stir. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow the flavors to marinate.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 deg. Spread tomato mixture evenly into a 9×12 casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through, until onions are slightly soft and sweet!
  3. Serve over cooked quinoa and steamed kale. Add chicken on side if desired. Top with crumbled feta cheese.

ClaireLeave a comment

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

This is my new favorite way to bake chicken. Throw some veggies and herbs into a casserole dish, top with some chicken breasts or thighs, rub with a bit of EVOO and a few more spices, and bake! The best part of this way of baking chicken is that all the juices from the chicken seep down into the veggies while they cook, adding a lot more flavor and keeping everything super tender! Oh, and the fact that it’s all in one dish to stick in the fridge for leftovers after. If there are any leftovers. We seem to have a problem with that in our house. 🙂

First step is adding all the veggies into the bottom of a greased casserole dish. I used a bag of frozen spinach (thawed and cooked), some chopped fresh kale, frozen basil from our garden, about 3 cups of broccoli florets, and some sautéed onions. I tossed in about a teaspoon of Better than Bullion (love that stuff), a bit of hot water to dilute, and some garlic powder.

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Next step is to add the chicken on top. This chicken was marinated in a regular old freezer bag for a few hours (flipping the bag about halfway through) with just about a fourth cup of olive oil, about half a cup of balsamic vinegar, about 2 tsp of minced garlic, some dried basil, and a bit more garlic powder. Don’t worry about exact measurements for this part- I eyed it all. Oops. 🙂

Carefully lay the chicken on top of the greens n’ onions like so:

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Sprinkle a bit of rosemary on top, and some more dried basil if you wish (can you tell I like my spices?), and now you’re ready to stick ‘er in the oven!

Bake at 375 deg for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomato mozzarella and basil salad. Drain a can of diced tomatoes in tomato juice, chop up a few grape tomatoes, remaining fresh basil, and a small block of mozzarella. Mix all together in a bowl and try to refrain from eating it by the spoonful like I wanted to after this picture.

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When the chicken has about 10 min left on the timer, spoon about a 1/3 cup of the tomato-mozzarella mixture on each breast. Cover with tinfoil and return to oven for the rest of the time!

When you take it out, it should look something like this.

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Or this:

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Ok I’ll stop now. I just like taking pretty pictures. 🙂

Serve over quinoa (I toasted mine first) with a little drizzle of balsamic reduction and some garlicky pita bread on the side!

But just one more. For kicks and giggles.

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Bruschetta Chicken Bake
Recipe Type: Entree, Chicken, Dinners
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Claire McCormick
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
My new favorite way to bake chicken! All in one dish and plenty (let’s hope) for leftovers!
Ingredients
  • 6 chicken breasts, thawed and pounded thinly
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp garlic powder, plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp dried basil, plus more to taste
  • 1 10-12 oz package frozen spinach, thawed
  • 3 c. fresh broccoli florets
  • 2 c. fresh chopped kale
  • 1 onion, chopped and sliced thinly
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 c. cubed fresh mozzarella cheese
  • 6 leaves fresh basil, chopped finely
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Garlic pita bread, for serving
  • Balsamic reduction, for serving
Instructions
  1. Place chicken breasts in large ziplock storage bag. Add olive oil, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp dried basil, and balsamic vinegar. Shake bag to coat chicken evenly.
  2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, turning bag halfway through.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 deg.
  4. Coat a large casserole dish with cooking spray.
  5. Heat skillet to medium high and sauté onion until golden and soft.
  6. In a large bowl, combine onion, spinach, kale, broccoli, and remaining garlic powder and dried basil. Spread evenly in bottom of casserole dish.
  7. Top with chicken breasts and additional spices, if desired.
  8. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh chopped basil in a small bowl.
  10. Spoon tomato mixture over chicken.
  11. Cover casserole dish with tin foil and return to oven for 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted. (I also reduced the heat to 350 because I’m paranoid.)
  12. Serve over toasted quinoa.

 

ClaireLeave a comment

Pepperoni Pizza Loaf

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Pepperoni Pizza Loaf
Recipe Type: Snacks, Appetizers
Author: Claire McCormick
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
An easy snack recipe promised to please the men of the house!
Ingredients
  • 1 store-bought refrigerated French Loaf (11 oz.)
  • 1 package sandwich-size pepperoni
  • 8 slices thin-sliced cheddar cheese
  • Italian seasoning, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Unroll french loaf carefully, separating in half.
  3. Using fingertips or a lightly greased rolling pin, spread dough into two rectangles, about 3″x12″ each.
  4. Sprinkle each rectangle with about 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning.
  5. Layer pepperoni slices over each rectangle, reserving about 1/8″ at the borders of the dough, and overlapping slightly.
  6. Layer 4 slices cheddar cheese on top of pepperoni.
  7. Gather long edges of each rectangle and begin to roll dough from the long ends, holding toppings steady as you roll.
  8. Seal ends of dough by pressing lightly with fingers.
  9. Bake 16-18 minutes or until golden-brown.
  10. Allow to cool before slicing! Serve with marinara sauce, if desired.

 

ClaireLeave a comment

Lemon-Dill Chicken & Bean Bake

This is literally one of the easiest chicken dishes I’ve ever made. And SO DELICIOUS! The key is to bake the chicken right on top of the veggies so that the juices seep down and flavor the vegetables while it’s in the oven. I love this dish because you can vary it up any way you want, too! I originally got the idea from one of my favorite blogs, Kath Eats Real Food (I swear she is my long-lost twin), where she tops garbanzo and green beans with chicken and seasons them simply with salt, pepper and garlic. The opportunities are endless- cumin-rubbed chicken over black beans and corn, curry-chicken over broccoli and quinoa, etc. etc.

The smell of this wafting out of the oven was almost enough on its own to get me eating it right out of the casserole dish! Hopefully you like it just as much, and create your own spin off of it! When you do, make sure to share with the rest of us! 🙂

I sprinkled some feta on top and sliced up half a lemon to add some zing to the chicken thighs.

I also served this with warmed pita bread and some broiled, sliced-up peaches- just sticking them the broiler while the oven is still hot for about a minute really brings out their sweetness! Yum!

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Preheat oven to 425 deg. Get all of your ingredients ready to go. This means chopping up the garlic into small pieces, chopping the dill and cauliflower, slicing the lemon, and rinsing/draining the beans.

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Next, spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Add the white beans, green beans, cauliflower, garlic, dill, the juice of half a lemon, 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of garlic powder and red pepper flakes (if desired). Mix it all together in the dish.

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Place the chicken thighs on top. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, a bit more salt and pepper, dill, and lemon slices from the remaining half of the lemon.

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All set to stick in the oven! Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes and prepare your tastebuds (and nostrils!) to be amazed!

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with feta. While oven is still warm, stick the pita bread and peach slices for 3-4 minutes. Remove pita bread and turn on the broiler to high. Broil peaches for about a minute, or until very soft and beginning to brown!

Serve chicken over veggies and beans with pita, additional feta, and peaches.

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Lemon-Dill Chicken & Bean Bake
Recipe Type: Easy Chicken Dishes
Author: Claire McCormick
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 6 chicken thighs, skinless-and boneless
  • 1 10 oz bag frozen green beans
  • 2 cups cauliflower, chopped
  • 2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 lemon
  • ~6 bunches dill (comes to about 4-5 tsp, chopped finely)
  • 2 tsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
  • red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/3-1/2 cup feta cheese, as desired
  • 2 pita rounds, for serving
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 deg. Get all of your ingredients ready to go. This means chopping up the garlic into small pieces, chopping the dill and cauliflower, slicing the lemon, and rinsing/draining the beans.
  2. Next, spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Add the white beans, green beans, cauliflower, garlic, dill, the juice of half a lemon, 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of garlic powder and red pepper flakes (if desired). Mix it all together in the dish.
  3. Place the chicken thighs on top. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, a bit more salt and pepper, dill, and lemon slices from the remaining half of the lemon.
  4. Bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes and prepare your tastebuds (and nostrils!) to be amazed!
  5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with feta. While oven is still warm, stick the pita bread and peach slices for 3-4 minutes.
  6. Remove pita bread and turn on the broiler to high. Broil peaches for about a minute, or until very soft and beginning to brown!
  7. Serve chicken over veggies and beans with pita, additional feta, and peaches.
Serving size: 1 chicken thigh and 3/4 cup bean/veggies Calories: 515 cal Fat: 14 g Carbohydrates: 55 g Fiber: 11 g Protein: 43 g

ClaireLeave a comment

Tuscan Penne Skillet

Looking for the perfect light summer meal with some substance to it? Here’s your dish!
Ben said this one reminded him of the pasta bar from the Great Hall, one of the dining halls on Duke’s West Campus. Ordinarily I probably wouldn’t have taken that as the greatest compliment… but since we enjoyed so many dinner dates over humongous bowls of that pasta stir-fry when we were dating at Duke, I decided to take it as one. Besides, who can pass up a big bowl of pasta with a huge heap of fresh veggies, some smoky turkey sausage, and melted mozzarella cheese to top it all off!?

I added some of my balsamic finishing syrup on top (since I put balsamic on just about everything) and a few more red pepper flakes. This dinner definitely did the trick!

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Tuscan Penne Skillet
Recipe Type: One-dish meals; Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Claire McCormick
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 12 oz uncooked whole wheat penne pasta
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp minced garlic (or 2 garlic cloves, chopped)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 lower-fat turkey sausage links, fully cooked and chopped into thin (about 1/8″) slices
  • 1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1 head broccoli florets, chopped into large pieces
  • 1/2 can black olives, chopped roughly (I did halves and quarters)
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I think I used closer to two, since I added so many veggies!)
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, for a bit more heat
  • salt and pepper
  • 6 oz baby spinach leaves
  • mozzarella or parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
  1. Cook penne according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add onions, garlic, and turkey sausage, and cook, stirring, until browned- about 4-5 minutes.
  3. Add broccoli, tomatoes, broth, red pepper flakes, dried basil, and cook on medium-low heat until broccoli and tomatoes are tender and some of the liquid has evaporated. Slightly press down on tomatoes to release their juices and crush them.
  4. Add black olives and spinach. Cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted.
  5. When pasta is done, drain and stir into the veggie and sausage skillet.
  6. Season with salt and pepper, and top with cheese and more red pepper flakes, as desired!

ClaireLeave a comment