Sunday, August 17, 2008

I don't really like to make big meals on Sunday and never really did until my Grandma Grace moved in with us. She grew up with a big, traditional family dinner on Sunday and still likes to have it. The big problem is that my husband likes to eat more chicken than red meat, because of the high cholesterol he inherited from his father, and Grandma isn't a big fan of chicken, but we make it work.
That said, here's What's for Dinner? tonight:

Roast Chicken Caprese
Roasted Red Potatoes
Green Salad
Garlic Bread

Chicken Caprese Recipe - Basically all Caprese means is that the recipe is in the style of the Island of Capri in Italy. This is one of the ways I can get Grandma to enjoy her chicken.

I tend to like to make my own marinades but my brother-in-law Ken uses Wishbone Italian Dressing for his chicken marinade that tastes delicious too. So, you can use any marinade you and your family like.

For the marinade:
1/4 cup olice oil
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For the chicken:
6 medium boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 3/4 to 2 lbs) [You could always add a chicken breast or two to chop up and freeze for a later quick meal - something Grandma told me about!]
6 medium plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag; pour marinade over chicken and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Place tomatoes in a medium bowl and toss gently with sugar, salt and oil. If you are concerned with E-coli or the tomatoes aren't in season, you could use canned.

Spoon mixture into rimmed cookie sheet so that the tomatoes don't touch. Bake 30 minutes; spoon tomatoes and all accumulated jices into a small bowl.

Add cheese, basil and pepper, tossing gently. Let sit at room temperature, while the chicken cooks.

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Remove chicken from refrigerator and discard marinade. Place chicken on the same cookie sheet and roast chicken for 30 minutes, turning once.

To serve, spoon tomato mixture over the top of the chicken. To make it look pretty, you could do this on each invidual plate, however, if you are like me, you have kids who do not want to eat the tomatoes or the chicken if it has touched the tomatoes. :)