it's what's cookin: 8/14/11

Why this blog??

Why this blog?? I often find myself stressing over what to make for my family for dinner. We live a busy life and some meals need time to prep, cook and let's not forget shopping for everything you need. I love cookbooks and websites, but there are so many recipe's at times it is overwhelming. The recipe's I will be posting are things I actually made. I will tell you if they are easy or more time consuming. I will also tell you if they are good. Most of these are recipe's I have made for years and continue to make because they are easy or quick and my family loves them and i know yours will too! I will also try to at least once in a whlie try a new recipe I've found on line or in a book and honestly rate it. I always encourage others to send me their favorite recipe's as well! I am a mom... not a chef. But I am a mom who enjoys cooking for her family and making a somewhat healthy meal (some days more healthy than others:) ) In each recipe I will share how I recommend serving it, any substitutions I can think of that are also good, or ways to prepare ahead of time to make the cooking part seem quicker! I am not a photographer, as you can see... most of these pictures are taken from my phone camera, so may not be the best! I love to hear from others who have made these recipes and what they have done to change the recipe... please post comments! Thank you! To "like" me on facebook, go to this link... It's What's Cookin

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Caprese Chicken

This was SOOOO good. I think I'm in love! I got the idea from a sandwich I had at Red Robin. I am always looking for new recipes for chicken that are healthy and flavorful. I love Caprese salad so I thought of this recipe and made it. There are a few things I would maybe recommend changing and I'll tell you those below. Here is how I made it.

*4 chicken breasts- About 1 inch thick (Not too thick, but also not too thin)
*1 cup italian dressing (I like Kraft Zesty Italian or WishBone Italian best)
*seasonings (I used 1 T montreal chicken seasonings and 1 1/2 T italian seasonings)

*2 T canola oil
*4 1/2 -inch slices of fresh mozzarella (I cut a mozzarella ball into slices)
*4 1/2-inch slices of tomato
*4 large basil leaves
*1 T balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze

1) Put the first 3 ingredients into a zip lock bag and marinate in fridge for 2-6 hours.

2)When ready to cook, preheat oven to 500 degrees and heat up cast iron skillet on stove top with the canola oil. Once oil is popping hot, add chicken breasts. Let sizzle for 2 minutes. Flip chicken and then place skillet in the oven.

3)Bake at 500 degrees for about 12 minutes (or until chicken is just done))

4)Take skillet out of oven. Top each chicken breast with a slice of mozzarella, slice of tomato and basil leaf. Place back in oven for 3-5 minutes.

5)Transfer chicken breasts to platter and drizzle balsamic over the top.

*** (Things you can do different. I like my cheese a bit melted and my tomatoes warm. I think it would be good just putting the cold cheese, tomato and basil on top of the warm chicken and drizzling the balsamic over the top. I think next time I will make mine the same way but just not add the basil to it until after it's done out of the oven)

**** I served this with a side salad of butter lettuce, cucumber, avocado and vinegar and oil and a loaf of fresh bread.

Sorry I didn't take more pictures. I didn't even thing about it until I was putting it in the oven. It's a super easy recipe though:)