#FoodieToosdy Week 8

Ree Drummond’s Ranch Chicken Sandwich

What you need:

4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup Dijon mustard (or country/grainy mustard)
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Crushed red pepper, for sprinkling, optional
1 pound thick-cut bacon, sliced in half
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar
8 soft whole grain buns

How to:

With a very sharp knife, cut the chicken breasts in half down the middle. This will result in 8 chicken breast pieces that are thinner and uniform in size.

Next, make the marinade. In a large bowl mix together the honey, mustard, paprika, salt, pepper to taste, lemon juice and crushed red pepper flakes if using. Stir to combine.

Add the chicken to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge, 2 to 4 hours.

While the chicken marinates, fry up the bacon until chewy. When finished cooking, reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon grease and pour off the rest of the grease (but do not clean the skillet).

When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the marinade and cook it in the skillet over medium-high heat, 3 to 4 minutes each side. Brush a little reserved bacon grease on the chicken as you cook it. (Or you can grill the chicken breasts on an indoor or outdoor grill.)

When a couple of minutes grilling time are left, lay 2 pieces of bacon onto each chicken breast. Top with some Cheddar and allow it to melt on the grill (if you need to remove the chicken you can finish melting the cheese under the broiler).

Halve the rolls and immediately load with the bacon-and-cheese covered chicken.

This is what mine looked like:

Sandra Lee’s Zucchini al Formaggio

Now I definitely thought this was Giada’s recipe, but when I went back to find it I couldn’t, so who knows I may be delusional. Anyways, I found Sandra Lee’s that just might be as good!

What you need:

4 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (recommended: McCormick)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (recommended: DiGiorno), plus shaved Parmesan, for garnish
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to:

Heat a large saute pan with olive oil over high heat. Add zucchini slices and saute for 5 minutes until slightly brown and tender. Add remaining ingredients, except shaved Parmesan, and toss to combine.

Remove to serving bowl with slotted spoon. Top with shaved Parmesan and serve hot.

Here’s how mine looked:

See they are a little different, but I liked it so much I just had to find you a recipe!

Aldi’s Mini Southwest Stratas

What you need:

• Carlini Canola Cooking Spray
• 1 tablespoon Carlini Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 cup diced yellow bell pepper
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup Season’s Choice Super Sweet Corn, thawed
• 1 cup Dakota’s Pride Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ teaspoon Stonemill EssentialsGround Cumin
• ½ teaspoon Stonemill EssentialsGround Paprika
• 2 ½ teaspoons Stonemill EssentialsIodized Salt, divided
• 2 ½ teaspoons Stonemill EssentialsGround Black Pepper, divided
• 6 Goldhen Large Eggs
• 1 ½ cups Friendly Farms Half & Half
• 10 ounces L’oven Fresh Mini Butter Croissants, cut into ¼-inch cubes
• 1 cup Happy Farms Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Tuscan Garden Real Bacon Bits (optional)

Make it the night before, freeze it and microwave them at your leisure.

How to:

Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the bell pepper, onion and corn for 5 minutes. Add the black beans, cumin, paprika, 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 ½ teaspoons pepper. Stir until well combined.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half & half, remaining salt and remaining pepper.
Add the croissants, vegetable mix, cheese and bacon bits. Divide the mixture among the muffin cups. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.
TIP: Freeze the muffins for future breakfasts. Thaw overnight, then pop in the microwave to reheat.

This is what mine looked like:

 

 

Every single one of these recipes was DELICIOUS! Mmmmmm, happy eating!