Food Prep: Delicious Recipes for Easy Meals

Life has been a bit busy lately. I’ve been trying to do some meal prep and easy meals to make life easier…and maybe a little healthier.

M’s been working long hours at the racetrack while live racing is in session. When I say “long hours” I’m talking from 6 am to 9 pm…five days a week. Poor guy. It sucks because he doesn’t get to eat much, and when I’m hanging out on my own I’m not that motivated to eat right. So, for both of us, pre-planning is the best route to go.

I’ve done easy things like washing and cutting up carrots and celery which I can take for sides for lunch, making chicken salad for M to take and snack on with some crackers when he gets a few quiet moments at work, and I’ve also marinated and grilled chicken breasts that can be heated up for dinner or lunches. I’ve actually really enjoyed the grilled chicken because it’s so flexible–shred it for a salad, eat it cold or heat it up and eat it with my carrots and celery.

Another easy, yet delicious lunch I discovered last week is a salad with chicken sausage. We buy this spinach and asiago chicken sausage from Sam’s Club every once in a while and I love it. I’ve sliced it up to have with whole wheat pasta and tomato sauce, as well as just eaten it plain for dinner. But one night I had a bag of salad and wanted something different. I poured some salad in a big bowl, sliced up some carrots and celery, added some slivered almonds and sunflower seeds, then heated up one sausage link. After cutting it up into smaller pieces, I added that and some light Italian dressing to the salad. OMG. I’m telling you, it might sound weird, but it’s delicious! So good that I had it for lunch the next two days (I just packed the salad in one container, the sausage in a sandwich bag, and brought the dressing with me to work).

One of the most satisfying work lunches ever!

Another favorite has been this Meatball Parmesan Casserole that I discovered on Pinterest. If you think you might be pressed for time, you can pre-make the meatballs and store in the refrigerator to bake another night. The longest part is the baking, but if you can have these ready to pop in the oven, it helps so much.

To add a little something, I place slices of zucchini under eat meatball, as well as scattered along the top under the cheese. I love zucchini, especially in Italian meals, so any time I can incorporate it, I will. Plus I think it adds some fiber and extra nutrients to the meal. The meatballs are great in a sandwich, as well as leftovers for lunch the next day.

Meatball Parmesan Casserole

And, finally, for breakfast, I have loved the Lean Green Bean’s Baked Oatmeal. I made this recipe in one pie pan, substituting chopped walnuts and slivered almonds for the pumpkin seeds and I used peanut butter instead of the Nutzo (but I added some cocoa powder as well as the cinnamon and some nutmeg). Baking this in the pie pan yielded four servings for me. And I loved heating these up every morning, adding some more peanut butter to the top and having some fresh berries on the side. It’s a great way to wake up! Next time I’m going to try adding some of my protein powder to it for some added protein.

The Lean Green Bean’s Baked Oatmeal

I’ve come to appreciate taking a little extra time, when I have the free time, to do some food prep. It might not exactly be Sunday night like some people, but it works…whenever I do it.

Your turn: Have you started doing food prep? If so, share your favorite pre-made meals!

Plain Ole Mac & Cheese? Puh-Lease!

I’m a mac & cheese kid. I’ll admit it–I love the stuff! I grew up on the blue boxed mac & cheese, but I’ve come to consider myself a mac & cheese aficionado. I even made sure we had some real yummy mac & cheese at our wedding, not just generic stuff.

Now that I’m a grown up, I’ve started to appreciate the flexibility that mac & cheese, as a dish, has. I’ve made it with spaghetti squash, quinoa, and whole wheat noodles. I even threw together a quick recipe one night, when all I was craving was mac & cheese, with some pretty healthy components.

Cheesy Whole Wheat Mac & Cheese W/Veggies

1 cup whole wheat macaroni noodles
Fat free milk
Cottage cheese
Shredded cheese (I used a colby jack mixture)
Parmesan cheese
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Thyme
Any green veggies (at least one cup’s worth, this time I used leftover broccoli)
Sprinkle of bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Prepare a small baking dish (8×8) with some cooking spray and set aside.
2. Cook the macaroni noodles in a sauce pan of water per box instructions. Drain.
3. In the saucepan, combine the noodles with the cottage cheese, shredded cheese, parmesan cheese, and spices to taste–if you like it cheesy, add lots, if you like some more flavor to your dish, add to taste.
4. Pour in your green veggies and combine.
5. Pour the mixture into your baking dish. I sprinkled a little extra parmesan cheese on top and then added some bread crumbs for a little more crunch.
6. Bake 10-15 minutes (until the cheese is melted and the top is golden).
7. Enjoy!

I’m sorry I don’t have exact measurements–a lot of times when I’m just throwing something together, I don’t measure. Plus I think a lot of times things depend on your taste buds–maybe you like a lot of garlic in your dishes, or not so much pepper. It’s up to you!

What’s your favorite way to enjoy mac & cheese? 

Do you add veggies to your noodle dishes?

Related articles

• Vegan Mac ‘n’ Cheese (pennhaven.wordpress.com)
• Spaghetti Squash Mac and Cheese Bites Recipe (untrainedhousewife.com)

Yummy Fresh Summer Dinner

Friday night M and I joined some friends at Whole Foods for their 5 on Friday event to try five different beers with be different recipes. They were all very good, but we were still hungry by the time we got home. We had some chicken sausage that needed to be cooked, so I found a recipe that sounded perfect for the evening:

I found the recipe using my AllRecipes.com Spinner app on my phone, but I changed it up some to suit what we had in the kitchen.

Stuffed Zucchini with Chicken Sausage

2 Zucchini
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 links chicken sausage with cheese, casings removed
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 can diced Italian-style tomatoes (most of the fluid drained)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon basil (I used dry, but you can use fresh if you have it)
1-2 tablespoons bread crumbs (to help soak up the mixture)
1 clove minced garlic
Chopped onion (I had minced dried onion that I did a couple of shakes)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Cut the zucchini length-wise (cut off the ends as well). With a spoon, scoop out the flesh, leaving a shell intact all around the zucchini–you decide the thickness of the flesh. (I love zucchini, so I didn’t make it too thin, though remember this will mean an adjustment to cooking time.)
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet, then cook up the chicken sausage, breaking up the meat while it cooks. After about 8 minutes or so, sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and basil. I saved some of the zucchini flesh and decided to chop that up and throw it in the chicken sausage mixture as well.
4. Pour the can of diced Italian-style tomatoes (partially drained) into the mixture and add the onion and garlic at this time. Stir the mixture until cooked through and then turn off the burner.
5. In a bowl, scrape the sausage mixture into a bowl with the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese until everything is thoroughly mixed.
6. Lightly stuff the zucchini boats with the mixture. I had the boats already placed on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven until thoroughly heated and the mixture is brown on top–about 30 minutes.

I loved this dinner–so light and so easy to make. Since I left the zucchini a little thicker, I think next time I should maybe bake the zucchini by itself a little first, or bake the entire thing more. Or maybe even grill the zucchini first! Hmm…I’m going to play around with it and will let you know.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Parents Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was a pretty relaxing, which is pretty good because I needed it with how crazy this month is going to be. My parents came into town Friday, and M started working second shift that same day, so it was a little weird at first. I had some already baked, semi-mashed sweet potatoes in the refrigerator that needed to be used up, and since it was Lent, I decided to try my hand at making a curry sweet potato soup.

I found the Roasted, Curried Sweet Potato Soup recipe on Pinterest and had to go buy curry powder for the recipe, but that wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t include the yellow onion (just some chopped, dried onion). And, since I had already baked the potatoes, so there was no need to roast them (but it’d be interesting to try this recipe with them actually roasted with the coconut oil). I served the soup with a very veggie salad mix and whole wheat biscuits to my parents. They liked the soup, as did I, except we all agreed there was too much curry powder in the recipe and it wasn’t very sweet. I didn’t want it to be very sweet, but this had way too much curry powder. Next time–less curry, roast the potatoes, and maybe add a little bit of brown sugar.

That night I decided to make sweet potato bread quick bread with the remaining sweet potatoes for us to have for breakfast all this weekend. I was excited that I had all of the ingredients listed, so I dove right into the recipe. This was a great success! When I came home from my 13-mile run Saturday morning, this was a great breakfast, along with some chai latte. Sooo yummy! I am totally going to make this recipe again (recipe to come later this week).

Sweet Potato Success–Roasted, Curried Sweet Potato Soup and Sweet Potato Quick Bread

The rest of the day, Saturday, was spent enjoying a big lunch with M and my parents, followed by camping out on the couch while my parents read and I dozed–exhausted and starting to have sore legs from my run. We splurged and ordered a pizza for dinner and watched Sherlock Holmes (with Robert Downey, Jr., and Jude Law) on television–so good!

Sunday, after polishing off the sweet potato bread along with some scrambled eggs with sautéed spinach, low-fat shredded cheese, and some turkey), mom and I set about to check out Kentucky Crafted: The Market, to see if it was a show she should try to get a booth in for her shop. It was a fun outing with her, checking out different artisans and some of the unique foods (apple salsa and pineapple chutney?? So good!) while it snowed outside. Then we met M and my dad for dinner at a barbecue joint before they hit the road back up to Indiana.

After the parents left and M headed off to work, I decided to add some layers and hit up my new friend, and fellow blogger, Nicole to meet up for a dog walk around the University of Kentucky’s Arboretum. We’ve chatted online and text for a while, and we’re both training for the Run the Bluegrass, we just haven’t gotten a chance to meet up. Luckily she and her vivacious Goldendoodle, Bentley, were up for a cold walk. Nicole writes over at Fruit N Fitness about her half marathon training (this will be her first race ever–brave girl!), and healthy eating while still studying for her graduate degree. (Plus she’s a horse girl, too–can’t beat that!)

The walk was a brisk one, but we got in 2.4 miles (perfect to stretch out our legs from our long runs the day before) and we got to know each other a little better. Thanks for meeting up with me, Nicole!

After the walk and a little cleaning, I tackled some food prep for the week, part of the HealthysELF challenge for the weekend. Unfortunately I didn’t get to do much prep, because I had an interview for a story I forgot about, but I was able to get a double batch of the Chunky Turkey Veggie Soup prepared and a few hardboiled eggs made for dinner and snacks this week. It’ll be interesting to see what I do while I have most nights to myself–I’ll still need to make dinner, so I can continue to eat healthy and make M dinner to take to work with him the next day. So while I figure it out, I’ll have to do more food prep later.

My extent of weekend food prep: double batch of Chunky Turkey Veggie Soup and hardboiled eggs. I’m going to do better next time, I promise!

Now it’s time to tackle yet another week!

Leftover Spaghetti Squash? Make Mac n’ Cheese!

After cooking my first spaghetti squash on Valentine’s Day, I still had some leftover that I knew needed to be eaten quickly. Luckily, I have a few different spaghetti squash recipes pinned on Pinterest, so I just dove into my boards and found one that resembled macaroni and cheese (my all time favorite).

I just so happened to have everything already (give or take), so it was a no-brainer that I should try this. I was pairing it up with grilled chicken breasts (55* in February at night? Hello, grill!) and some steamed veggies.

Spaghetti Squash Mac n’ Cheese

1/2 tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 cup milk (I used non-fat)
1/4 cup blended shredded cheese (Colby Jack for me)
1 1/2 cups spaghetti squash, cooked
1 slice green bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp frozen peas
Salt & Pepper to taste
A pinch (or 2) shredded parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Prepare a small square casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine the flour with some salt and pepper, and slowly whisk in the milk over medium heat, until smooth. (This part was frustrating to me, so if you can’t tell if it’s smooth, that’s alright, just move onto the next step.)
3. Stir in the cheese and mix until the sauce is thick and cheese is melted (I ended up adding a little more cheese to this, so just do to your tastes). Remove from heat. Poor over the spaghetti squash in a small bowl and combine the two until the “noodles” are covered in cheese sauce.
4. At this point, I added about a teaspoon of diced green pepper to the mixture for extra flavor. Then pour the mixture into the casserole dish. Top with the remaining green pepper and frozen peas (next time I’m going to mix in some peas as well). Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the squash is heated through.
6. Enjoy!

The original author said for the entire dish (not just one serving), the stats were: 220 calories, 9 g fat, 20 g carbs, 17 g protein.

Cheesy, yummy goodness!

M loved it and so did I! Next time I will add more peas to the mix (in addition to the topping) to get some more veggies in.

 

Valentine’s Dinner Recap

It was my night to fix dinner on Valentine’s, so I decided to try to make it special, but healthy. So I found a recipe for a skillet chicken parmesan and decided to pair it with a salad with my pumpkin vinaigrette and spaghetti squash. This was my first time making chicken parmesan and spaghetti squash, so I was a little nervous about how it would all come out.

My “romantic” candlelit dinner was serenaded by a song list on my IPhone.

FIrst of all, the spaghetti squash. It was so much easier than I thought it was! First I stabbed it (quite) a few times with a fork, then put it in a shallow pan in the oven at 350* for an hour. While that was cooking, M was playing a video game and I took the dogs for a walk (productive!).

After the hour was up, I removed the squash from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. I pulled out a serrated knife and cut the squash in half and then cleaned out the seeds. Finally I scraped out the insides with a fork into a bowl, and there you have it: spaghetti squash!

Next came the skillet chicken parmesan. I had gotten a couple of chicken breasts out to thaw that morning, and then did a light coat of a roasted tomato vinaigrette marinade that afternoon.

1. While the squash was cooking, I took out the chicken, placed it in some plastic wrap and then used the side of a hammer (we don’t have a meat mallet) to pound the breasts to about a 1/4 inch thick.
2. I then placed them in a skillet with some olive oil and minced garlic for about 3 minutes on each side, then removed them to a plate.
3. I added some more minced garlic and some diced onion to the pan to cook down a little, then poured a can of crushed tomatos into the pan. I added a little Italian seasoning and some garlic power, then stirred to mix it together.
4. I remembered I had some roasted zucchini and summer squash from earlier this week, so I added that to the sauce.
5. In a bowl, combine some bread crumbs with garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Coat the two chicken breasts in the bread crumbs.
6. After the spaghetti squash was done, I turned the oven to broil at 400*, then placed the two chicken breasts in the tomato mixture (I was using an oven-safe pan), topped with some part-skim mozzarella  and place the pan in the oven to brown the cheese and crisp the breading. (Keep your eyes on the cheese so it doesn’t burn.)
7. Once complete, I assembled the plates with some spaghetti squash, some of the sauce with veggies, and then the chicken breast.

The result: Deliciousness!!

Dinner: complete with a salad and homemade pumpkin vinaigrette.

I was going to make a (healthy) strawberry shortcake cupcake for our desert, but M brought home some cupcakes from a local bakery (Caramanda’s) that were decorated for the holiday. So, I figure Valentine’s Day is the one respite from Lent and we could treat ourselves.

Valentine’s cupcakes from Caramanda’s.

 

Kicking Off Two New Challenges

Monday was all about kicking off two new challenges I’ve signed up for: healthysELF and FlexibleFebruary.

Remember how over the holidays I was doing #Elf4Health? Well, everyone who participated loved the camarderie and activities of the challenge and wanted to continue it, so Elle and Lindsay decided to extend the challenge for a longer time (I can’t remember exactly how long), with a new Facebook group and new hashtag–#healthysELF. If you are looking to get healthy and want a great support system, I urge you to try it (it’s free!).

Also this month, I’m participating in Clare’s challenge of #FlexibleFebruary, where we’re challenging ourselves to get in at least 60 minutes of stretching every week. I do a lot of stretching already, but it can’t hurt to do a little more. Again, this is a free challenge with some cool prizes.

So for the healthysELF challenge, we were to have a Meatless Monday. I started the day with a morning spinning class (first am spin class, and I loved it) and 10 minutes of stretching (in the Flexible February bank!). I ended up running late for work and didn’t have time to fix breakfast, but I grabbed a key lime Oikos Greek yogurt and had half a PowerThin protein bar at the office. Lunch time I needed some comfort food, so I fixed tomato soup and grilled cheese. But the best part was dinner.

I found a recipe on Pinterest that I just knew M would love, even though his comment about Meatless Monday was “Are you trying to kill me?” But this recipe bowled him over and he’s set for more meatless meals, I think!

I found this recipe for Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas and bought most of the items Sunday at the grocery, but forgot the spinach and cauliflower. I ended up just buying a bag of cauliflower already cut up because it was simpler and much less expensive than a head (shocked at the price!). I changed the recipe up a little bit, so here’s my version:

Roasted Veggie Stacked Enchiladas

1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 cups’ worth cauliflower cut up
1 small sweet potato peeled and diced into 1″ cubes
1 cup corn kernels (you can use fresh, frozen, or even canned)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin (I think I might have done more than that, I didn’t measure)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt & pepper
Chopped onions (M doesn’t like whole onions)
2 cups baby spinach leaves (two big handfuls)
Salsa
Whole wheat tortillas (I only needed 2)
Shredded cheddar cheese, or Mexican mix
Cilantro (only if you like it, we don’t, so I didn’t use it)
Plain Greek yogurt for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 425* F and prep a shallow baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. Cut up your veggies: peppers into matchsticks, cauliflower, sweet potato, and place on cookie sheet with the corn. Drizzle olive oil on the veggies, then sprinkle minced garlic, cumin, chopped onions, salt and pepper, over the veggies. Use your hand to mix them around until coated. Spread out on the sheet.
3. Roast your veggies for 30-40 minutes, stirring them up every 10 minutes. Veggies are done when they are tender and starting to brown in some places. Remove from the oven and set aside.
4. Turn the oven down to 350* F. Prepare an 8x8x2 (or 9x9x2) square baking pan with nonstick spray.
5. (If you like cilantro, dice up some and mix it in about 2 cups of salsa.) Spread some of the salsa on the bottom of the pan (just a thin layer). Add a layer of tortilla (I ripped mine into three pieces that fit perfectly in the pan)., followed by half the roasted veggies, a layer of spinach, and a layer of cheese. The second layer will be: tortilla, salsa, veggies, spinach, and cheese (use up the remainder of the salsa and veggies in this layer).
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and everything is heated throughout.
7. When you’re serving it, you can top it with some plain Greek yogurt for a little bit of tang. (I did and loved it!)

The whole family helped in prepping the veggies for dinner!

At first M was skeptical with the “odd combination” of vegetables, but one bite and he was hooked. The sweet potato gives the mix a little bit of sweetness to counterbalance the spices.

This is definitely going to be one of our favorite meals. I served it with leftover cornbread from Sunday’s chili and some pears.

What is your favorite Meatless Monday meal?

Related articles

• Recipes: Healthy Meatless Burgers to Try This Weekend (davidvalefitness.wordpress.com)
• Meatless Monday: Spinach Lasagna (foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com)
• Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Taco Salad (chronicinthekitchen.com)

Yummy Autumn Dinner – Skillet Chicken w/Apples & Cranberries

Happy Halloween everyone!! I promise I’ll put together a post about the honeymoon soon–I’ve got lots of great photos to share with you of my first-ever (yep, you read that right, first time) seeing the ocean and being on a beach.

But first, I wanted to share this delicious meal I made for M and I tonight after the trick or treaters were done. It’s perfect for Fall, and it’s pretty good for you, too! I was lucky to find this recipe on Pinterest and have been wanting to try it (reminds me a lot of something my mom would cook).

Skillet Chicken with Apples & Cranberries

1 lb chicken tenders, trimmed and cut in half on the diagonal (Or I thawed out two big chicken breasts and sliced them up after they thawed)
3/4 tsp dried thyme, divided
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp canola oil, divided
2 crisp red apples, such as Braeburn, Fuji or Gala, thinly sliced (I used 1 large Gala since it was just for M and I)
1 large red onion, quartered & sliced (I did not have red onion, so I omitted it, and it still tasted great)
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice, divided
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1. Sprinkle both sides of chicken tenders with 1/4 tsp each thyme, salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add the chicken. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned on all sides, 3-4 minutes total. Transfer to a clean plate.

Nothing says Fall like crisp red apples, cranberries, and Trader Joe’s Spiced Apple Cider.

2. Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the pan. Add apples, onion, 2 tbsp cider (or juice) and the remaining 1/2 tsp each thyme and salt. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring often, until the apples and onion are softened, 3-4 minutes. Add cranberries and sprinkle flour over everything in the pan; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

3. Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the remaining cider (or juice). Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

At this point I was salivating.

The blogger recommended serving this with wild rice, but I didn’t have any, so I just steamed some broccoli and some leftover cornbread from my company’s chili cook-off we had today. (I won for spicy chili! I’ll post that recipe later.)

Yum!!

The kitchen smelled great when I added the cider to the apples, and the flavor didn’t disappoint. I never thought about the thyme and salt with the apples, but it was a great combination. Here are the stats from the recipe as it was in the blog:

Per serving: 287 calories; 10 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 63 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 24 g protein; 4 g fiber; 496 mg sodium; 415 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (18% daily value).

Give it a try and tell me what you think!

A Great Weekend & Yummy Ending

This weekend was one that was desperately needed because it was fun and relaxing, even if it was a little busy.

Saturday, after completing my 11-mile comeback run, M and I headed up to Dayton to meet up with an Air Force buddy of his and his girlfriend to tour the United States Air Force Museum. It was a lot of fun to see all of the different planes from the different eras of the Air Force (or the United States Army Air Force, as it was called before the inception of the Air Force in 1947). I love classic cars, and I decided that the same goes for classic planes. M and his friend regailed us with different stories about their time in Japan together, which was a lot of fun to hear about M’s life before we met.

After the museum we went to a favorite restaurant of mine when we’re in the area for agility trials–Company 7 BBQ in Englewood, Ohio. This place it great, with great beer and food! M has been wanting to go there, and his friend hadn’t been there, so it was fun introducing them to a favorite place. After a few hours there, M and I had to make the 2.5 hour trek back to Lexington and crashed.

After a filling breakfast on Sunday, we ran errands and came home to accomplish a few tasks–mowing the lawn, washing the dogs, washing the trucks (mine and his work truck), laundry, pack away the winter clothes, and clean out the garage. Whew! Lots of things that needed to be done, and we got them done together. So to celebrate, I fixed us a delicious, but healthy and easy, dinner, part of which I found on Pinterest.

Grilled yumminess - grilled bruschetta chicken and grilled zucchini

I made my grilled zucchini with grilled bruschetta chicken, and a side of salad with dried cranberries, slivered almonds, and a new vinigerette. So delicious, and so easy. I can’t wait to make the chicken again (and I’m happy to say that yes, I actually do make the things that I pin on Pinterest!).

Here’s the recipe:

Grilled Chicken Bruschetta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Kraft Sun-Dried Tomatao dressing, divided
1 tomato, finely chopped (I cheated and got a can of petite diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup shredded, park-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, or 1 tbsp dried basil leaves (I used dried)

Doesn't this look like a scrumptious summertime meal?? It was!

1.) Place chicken in resealed baggie with part of the sun-dried tomato dressing, seal, and turn over to coat the chicken. (I did one breast in each baggie.) Set aside in refrigerator for at least 10 minutes (I was able to have mine set for five hours–nice!).
2.) Place a large sheet of heavy duty foil over half of the grill and heat.
3.) Take chicken out of the baggies and set on the grill (not on the foil) for 8 minutes.
4.) While the chicken is grilling, combine the diced tomatoes, basil, cheese, and a little bit of the dressing in a container and mix thoroughly.
5.) Flip the chicken over and place on alumnium foil on the grill, then top with the bruschetta mixture. Close the lid and grill for another 6-8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.
6.) Enjoy!!

Related articles

• Grilled Bruschetta Chicken (paonblanc.wordpress.com)
• Grilled Chicken with Plum Salsa (thecocinamonologues.com)