Summer makes me want all things caprese. The other week I shared one of my favorite caprese recipes that I’ve been making for a few years, Watermelon Caprese Salad. This Caprese Grilled Chicken is a new favorite and it’s so simple I’m shocked I hadn’t made it until this summer. Say hello to tender grilled chicken topped with melty mozzarella, juicy grape tomatoes, fresh basil and a sweet balsamic glaze.

This dish is so easy making it all the more ideal for a perfect summer meal. Fresh mozzarella is amazing cold, but get it a little ooey and gooey and you’ll want to dive right in. Literally. But please use a fork and save yourself some embarrassment.

Caprese Grilled Chicken would be delicious over some pasta or a big salad. Or you can be like Matt and I and eat it alongside some grilled asparagus. And yes, asparagus does seem to be our meal solution to everything, but I’m okay with that.

In addition to weeknight dinners I was also thinking this chicken would be perfect for serving at 4th of July or other summer barbecues as a fresh change from hamburgers and hot dogs. I can’t believe 4th of July is already this Wednesday! It feels like summer just started. Do you have any fun plans for the holiday?

The middle of the week timing isn’t great, but we plan to sneak in some family and friends time, along with some red, white and blue food of course! If you’re looking for recipe inspiration there is a 4th of July drop-down in my recipe index. Have a great week everyone and I’ll be having my next post go out on Thursday. Trust me, you will not want to miss this one! Happy 4th of July!

Caprese Grilled Chicken

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic glaze
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Either place the chicken in a plastic bag or place some plastic wrap over the chicken sitting on a cutting board and carefully pound the chicken so they have a more even surface. You don’t want to pound them thin, you are just trying to even them out so they cook more evenly.
2. Lightly drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the chicken breasts. Toss or use a basting brush to coat. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken for about 4-5 minutes per side, until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. When the chicken is almost done, carefully place the sliced mozzarella on the top of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the heat when the chicken is cooked through and the mozzarella is melted. Let rest before cutting into the breasts. I typically grill the chicken to 160 degrees F and allow for some carryover cooking, which is where your chicken or meat continues to cook once it’s been removed from the grill. I temp it after a few minutes and make sure it has risen to 165 degrees. This is one way to make sure you don’t overcook your chicken.
3. In a small bowl, toss the halved grape tomatoes and fresh basil with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Season with coarse salt. Place on top of the chicken and finish with a drizzle of the balsamic vinegar.

Notes

You can find balsamic glaze in the grocery store. If you want to make your own: combine ½ cup good quality balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoons brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer until the mixture is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. The glaze should be thick and syrupy. Let cool before serving. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

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Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

It’s finally Friday! To celebrate I’m sharing these Pineapple Barbecue Chicken Foil Packet. Yes, I know it seems weird to celebrate with a chicken dish, but this dish is worth celebrating. Remember when I posted the Barbecue Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and I said the healthy homemade barbecue sauce was so good you would be seeking out recipes to put it on? Well, that’s what I’ve been doing! Have you tried my barbecue sauce yet? No?? Make it this week! I promise it’s so delicious you will be shocked you’ve never made homemade barbecue sauce before. You will also be very, very happy to eat it without any guilt since there’s no refined sugar or preservatives.

Barbecue and pineapple is such a classic pairing that I had to stick the two together for these foil packets. I also loaded them with veggies so you could have a quick and easy all-in-one meal. Cooking in a foil packet is a great way to keep everything inside moist as it cooks. All the sauces and juices get trapped in the packet, which helps concentrate the flavor and make everything tender.

I used green beans, red bell pepper and zucchini for some variety, but you can swap with your favorite seasonal vegetables. Just make sure they aren’t so big that they might not steam through, like big florets of broccoli, or too small that they will turn to mush, like really thin asparagus.

Another advantage to cooking in a foil packet is that clean up couldn’t be easier! On a side note, I’ve been wondering about the impact my aluminum foil usage in the kitchen is having on the environment so I did some research. This article from The Kitchn explains that a lot of towns will accept aluminum foil in the recycling bin if it’s been rinsed and they have a link to check to see if your town or city allows you to toss rinsed foil in with your single stream recycling. So awesome! Unfortunately my town excludes aluminum foil from recycling, but many of the towns I checked do so hopefully mine will soon as I would happily rinse and recycle my foil, which is still a super easy cleanup! In the meantime, I’m going to start rinsing and reusing my foil to cut back on my waste. Any bit helps!

Okay, back to this sweet and juicy chicken dish! You can eat it as a meal in-itself like Matt and I did, or it would also be fantastic with some rice. If you don’t have too much leftover liquid in your packets (see the recipe – the zucchinis and chicken release some water and juices) then you could serve the rice family style and just let everyone scoop some into their packets. This is a great way to serve a healthy chicken dish for a crowd because you can prep all the packets ahead of time and just throw them in the oven when everyone arrives. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend – and don’t forget to try this barbecue sauce!

Pineapple Barbecue Chicken Foil Packets

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

for the chicken

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 4 thin portions
• ⅔ pound green beans
• 1 red bell pepper
• ½ zucchini
• 8 sliced rings of pineapple

for the barbecue sauce

• 1 small can tomato paste, about 6 ounces
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 4 teaspoons molasses
• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 teaspoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

for the chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lay out 4 pieces of aluminum foil that are big enough to completely seal in the chicken, set aside.
2. Prep the veggies. Trim the green beans. Cut the bell pepper into slices about ½” to ¾” thick. Cut the zucchini into thick rounds then halve.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put 1 breast on each piece of aluminum foil and slightly fold up the sides so nothing with spill out. Divide the green beans, red pepper slices and zucchini wedges between the 4 packets, nestled the vegetables on either side of the chicken. Top the chicken with some barbecue sauce, making sure to save some for serving. Then place 2 pineapple rings on each chicken breast. Fold up the foil packets to tightly seal, place the packets on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
4. When opening the packets, be very careful because of the steam and the hot liquid in the packets. There will be liquid from the chicken and the zucchini. Remove the contents of each packet to a plate, top with additional barbecue sauce and serve.

for the barbecue sauce

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.

Notes

For the chicken, I halved 2 chicken breasts lengthwise to get 4 thin breasts.
You can grill these foil packets instead of baking them if you would prefer. I have not tried grilling them so I’m not sure on the exact timing it would take, but make sure to flip it halfway through - and that your foil packet is sealed extra tight!

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Lauren Uncategorized 2 Comments

Happy Wednesday everyone! I just had the best week with my Aunt Elaine, Uncle Pete and goddaughter, Mikaila. They came to visit Matt and I for a few days last week and we spent two packed days exploring Boston. I’ve lived here my whole life and learned all kinds of things I never knew about our city. I also discovered a store on Newbury Street with the cutest patterned dresses and tops – priorities!

Their visit got me even more excited for my family’s annual beach week; if that’s even possible. For those of you that don’t know, every year my extended family has a beach week down at the Delaware shore. Last year my Aunt Dottie made a salad for lunch to bring to the beach and it was so pretty I had to take a photo and post it on Instagram. When I was trying to think of something healthy and refreshing to post for 4th of July next week I immediately remembered my aunt’s salad.

This is a Red, White and Blue Spinach Salad loaded with sliced turkey, strawberries, blueberries and feta cheese. You can easily customize it to your own preferences by swapping grilled chicken for the turkey – or even leaving it meatless. Same with the berries and cheese. Not a feta fan? Use goat cheese or mini mozzarella balls. Swap raspberries for the strawberries and blackberries for the blueberries! It’s totally up to you.

The best part about this salad, both for how it makes it look and how it makes it taste, is the berry balsamic vinaigrette. I love the rich color the dressing gets from the berries. I especially love that you can really taste the berry flavor in the dressing and it pairs so well with the balsamic vinegar. If your berries are really ripe and sweet you might not even need the agave or honey as an additional sweetener.

The dressing has only five ingredients and could not be any easier – or more delicious! Toss it with the spinach salad and you’ll have some berry happy 4th of July guests. Sorry, I couldn’t resist! So go ahead and use all the berries to enjoy this salad all summer long!

Red, White & Blue Spinach Salad

 

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Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

for the salad

• 10 ounces spinach
• 12 slices deli turkey meat (about 12 ounces)
• 1 cup quartered strawberries
• ¾ cup blueberries
• ¾ cup feta cheese

for the dressing

• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup quartered strawberries
• ¼ cup blueberries
• 1 teaspoon agave or honey, if needed
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

for the salad

1. Place the spinach in a serving bowl. Rip or cut the deli turkey into pieces. Top with the strawberries, blueberries, feta cheese and turkey.

for the dressing

1. Place all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until combined, about 40 seconds. If your fruit is very ripe and sweet you may not even need the agave or honey - give it a taste without it first if you would like then add if you feel it’s needed. If you want to strain out the blueberry and strawberry seeds you can using a fine mesh strainer, but they didn’t bother Matt or I. Season with salt or pepper to taste. Feel free to thin out the dressing more with some olive oil if desired. Drizzle over the salad or serve alongside the salad when ready to eat.

Notes

If not serving right away, wait to put on the quartered strawberries and turkey. The dressing is best the day it is made.

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Lauren Uncategorized 2 Comments

How many posts have I started with, “I’m so excited to share this with you!”? I think that’s okay though because I only ever share recipes here that I think you NEED in your life so it makes sense for me to always be excited! These Healthy Open-Faced Chicken Salad Sandwiches have me really excited for several reasons, but mostly because the chicken salad is just damn delicious! Now, as many of you know, I am mayonnaise obsessed. At least half of you are probably cringing right now (I know Matt is!), but I’ve just always been hooked. Mayonnaise and healthy don’t exactly go together so I challenged myself to make a mayo-free chicken salad that wouldn’t make me miss the mayo at all. Well, as mayo-free as possible – I did throw in just one little tablespoon of mayo (which is less than a teaspoon per serving). Sorry, I can’t help it!

I was completely prepared to hate this chicken salad. I thought with subbing in plain Greek yogurt that would be all I would taste and that it would be okay, but not a solid substitute for the classic. I was so wrong and I’m so excited about it! I didn’t miss all the mayo one bit! The apple cider vinegar, Dijon, parsley and scallions give this chicken salad so much flavor and the crunch from the apple and the almonds keeps it from being anything but boring.

Another reason this chicken salad has so much flavor packed in is that I used grilled chicken. I love grilling chicken in the summertime and this sandwich is the perfect reason to throw a few extra chicken breasts on your grill. Matt hates chicken salad because he doesn’t like mayo and even he was chowing down on these!

The chicken salad tastes great on its own or on a green salad, but my favorite way to eat it is as these Open-Faced Chicken Salad Sandwiches. I love using locally baked sourdough bread as a healthier option. I am allergic to oats and most multigrain breads have rolled oats, oat flour or oat fiber in them. Although sourdough is similar to white bread in terms of calories and carbs, it is usually made with no sweeteners or oils, doesn’t require extra preservatives and is higher in protein. A lot of people also find it much easier to digest due to the lactic acid present as a result of the baking process. I also love how it’s soft and chewy with a bit of a tanginess to it. It holds up really well to this chicken salad and tastes so good with a little bit of fresh arugula for some added green veggies. I hope you enjoy this one! If you try a recipe, don’t forget to let me know how it was in the comments – I love hearing from you all!

Healthy Open-Faced Chicken Salad Sandwich

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

for the chicken salad

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken, grilled, about 2.5 cups cooked
• ½ cup diced apple
• ¼ cup chopped almonds
• ¼ cup sliced scallions
• ⅓ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1½ tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

for the sandwich

• 4 slices sourdough bread
• 1 cup arugula
• Carrot and red pepper slices for serving, optional

Directions

for the chicken salad

1. Dice the chicken. Toss in a medium mixing bowl with the diced apple, chopped almonds and sliced scallions. Add the yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, Dijon, salt, pepper and parsley. Stir well to combine.

for the sandwich

1. Put the sourdough bread on 4 plates or in 4 meal prep containers. Divide the arugula between the 4 slices of bread. Top with the chicken salad, dividing between the 4 slices of arugula topped bread. Add carrot and red pepper slices to container, if using.

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Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

I don’t remember how I stumbled across this recipe, but I am so glad I did. When I first saw it I knew I needed to make it immediately. The whole concept of Chicken Caesar Salad Meatballs is genius! Basically the crunchy chicken meatballs take the place of both the croutons and the protein in this Caesar salad. What?! I know, I’m boggling your mind right now.

The chicken meatballs are rolled in crushed croutons before they are baked so they are crispy and full of crouton-y goodness. These are anything but ordinary chicken meatballs. In addition to the crispy exterior, the meatballs are loaded with all the makings of a delicious Caesar salad. Instead of breadcrumbs we use more crushed croutons and instead of egg or oil we use Caesar dressing. There’s also Parmesan and scallions involved.

If you can’t find ground chicken you can use ground turkey instead. I’ve made it both ways numerous times and it’s always delicious. If you want to talk about a tried and true recipe, this is it. I’ve been making this dish regularly since 2009; that’s almost 10 years of Chicken Caesar Salad Meatball perfection! I first made it for my roommates and we all devoured it. After college, it was immediately put on Matt’s and my regular dinner rotation and has stayed that way ever since. I especially love this salad when the weather is warm like this and now that we have a big toaster oven I just make them in there instead of heating up the whole kitchen with the oven.

If you’re having leftovers you can eat them cold, but I always heat the meatballs a little before putting them on top of the salad so you get a nice mix of the warm crunchy meatballs and the cold Caesar salad. Since you are using crouton crumbs both in the meatball and on the outside tasty croutons are key for this recipe. I love the Trader Joe’s cheese and garlic croutons. They are so addictive! When I crush the croutons I like to keep a few bigger chunks since they add to the texture of the crispy outside. You might have noticed from the photos, but the Caesar dressing I usually use isn’t the thick and creamy one you normally see, although you can certainly use that. These were made with the Trader Joe’s Caesar dressing, which is a more oil-based Caesar dressing. Either way, I know they will be delicious!

Chicken Caesar Salad Meatballs

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

for the chicken caesar meatballs

• 1 lb lean ground chicken
• 1⅓ cup crushed croutons, divided
• ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons caesar dressing
• 2 scallions, sliced
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

for the salad

• Romaine lettuce
• Caesar dressing
• Additional fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

for the chicken caesar meatballs

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray. Set aside. Place 1 cup of the crushed croutons in a small bowl and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, the remaining ⅓ cup of the crushed croutons, scallions, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper, being sure not to overmix.
3. Divide the meat mixture into 4 sections. Use each section to roll out 3 chicken meatballs. Roll each meatball in the bowl of crushed croutons before placing on the baking sheet. Repeat until you have 12 chicken meatballs. They are big!
4. Bake the chicken meatballs for 15 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and bake for another 15 minutes.
5. While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the caesar salad. Cut and wash the lettuce then toss with the caesar dressing and extra parmesan cheese. I usually plan on 4 cups of romaine lettuce per person. The amount of dressing and additional Parmesan is up to you!
6. When the chicken meatballs are cooked, let them cool for 5-7 minutes before serving on top of the caesar salad.

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Lauren Uncategorized 2 Comments