I love cooking in the winter. Soups, stews, roasts, potatoes, hot bread: I love cooking these things. A pot of stew simmering on the stove and a fresh loaf of bread is so comforting.
We don't eat those things in the summer. They're too
hot. But there are things I love about cooking in the summer, too. I like picking herbs on our deck and I love fresh food from the garden. It's easy to throw a meal together in the summer.
Here's a meal I like to make every now and then.
Chop some tomatoes. (This is good for tomatoes that are wrinkly, or a little old - still good, but maybe not great for eating fresh.) Mix with a little olive oil and salt, and maybe some minced garlic, and spread onto a baking sheet.
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Throw the tomatoes into a HOT oven - 450-500 degrees - or, since the oven is currently outlawed, onto a hot grill.
Meanwhile, grab some herbs. I can't tell exactly what's all here, but I see basil and chives and maybe some rosemary. Whatever.
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Chop the herbs finely and set aside. You can see I also grated some Romano cheese and added some parsley for garnish. I'll use these later.
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After about ten minutes, the tomatoes have softened and gotten some nice color. Scrape them off the pan and be sure to get the brown stuff. That's got a lot of flavor.
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Mix the tomatoes with your herbs, and set aside. If the mixture cools off while you cook, you can just microwave it before serving.
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Now, cover two chicken breasts with a couple layers of plastic wrap -
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And pound the crap out of them with a dijon mustard jar.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCRbXSutvv2ck6IjJvGUEXIzEtpw-wfcRjs1vXKSw43ZOEwbm9pQ4r1TtNHhi1uE_UdaTZLyLLPf1a9q9uenJGcbYndNw0_inTS_GTYG8j00xLAybdOYl_edcHvHHOaj1TnkFV4PuB3No/s400/DSC03815.JPG)
Dredge the chicken breasts in a mixture of Parmesan cheese (the stuff in a can), flour, and seasoned salt.
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Heat some olive oil and a little butter in a pan for a couple minutes, and when it's nice and hot, throw in the chicken. Cook over medium heat for about four minutes per side. (Only flip once!)
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Meanwhile, trim some green beans. You can saute them in the same pan, once the chicken is done.
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After the chicken's rested for a couple of minutes, spoon some hot tomato sauce onto a plate, top with the chicken, add more tomatoes, and sprinkle with cheese.
Easy and frightfully delicious.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0P1e_4EPXa8yLdEcWLCJkkA5JxTp6Y1gvH7XnXitbyluKKxOT3Gw_F_QHQK_ajQvLi5QEd92MoEhTF8XajKVQPZCRrgmBE52VSXq2PUs2jtBpQ8dbEON90WODz85HS_zog4sZcKh3MVEQ/s400/DSC03824.JPG)
Brought to you by summer.
![-Maeg](http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o85/EmbeeWard/CropperCapture23.jpg)
This looks great! I think it might be a good meal for a Mom with a newborn too. It doesn't look too intensive. :-)
ReplyDeleteLisa, if I lived there I would bring it to you! Yes, it is easy, and probably would be even easier if you baked the chicken breasts. If I had a whole buncha kids like you do now, anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're so sweet, Maegan. :-)
ReplyDelete