Caprese Spaghettie Squash

It may officially be fall, but the weather sure is still making its full transition. Even on the warmest of fall days, I have found myself craving comfort food. I have also found myself craving easy weeknight meals.. This recipe for caprese spaghetti squash is the perfect transitional meal from summer to fall. 

One of the best parts about this recipe is that it only requires 2 baking sheets, making for very easy cleanup! The other amazing thing is that you can roast the tomatoes in the oven at the same time as the sphaghetti squash. I love a good time saving recipe :)

Once everything is roasted, it is time to assemble the sphaghetti squash. I scrapped all of the spaghetti squash "noodles" out of the shell, sprinkled it with salt, and mixed it with marinara sauce. I placed the spaghetti squash "noodles" back into the shell and layered it with the oven roasted tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, mozzerella and parmesan cheese. 

When I pulled them out of the oven, I sprinkled them with fresh basil and topped them with pine nuts. You could also add some additional cheese or any other toppings you'd like to them.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

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Caprese Sphaghetti Squash Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash, cut and half and cleaned out
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes 
• 1 cup marinara sauce (more or less, depending on your preference)
• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (plus more for garnish)
• 6 thick slices fresh mozzerella cheese 
• 2 Tbs. parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with olive oil or cooking spray. 
3. With a sharp knife, carefully cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. With a spoon, gently remove seeds and discard. Place spaghetti squash cut side down on baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until a fork can pierce the shell easily.
4. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt. During the last half of the squash cooking time, place the tomatoes in the oven and roast for approximately 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are shrivelled. Set aside.
5.  Remove both the squash and the tomatoes from the oven. When the squash is just cool enough to touch, flip the squash over.  Turn the oven to broil.
6. With a fork, loosen and separate spaghetti squash strands from shell. Reserve shells.
7. Place strands in a bowl. Mix strands with  salt (don't skip this step), and pasta sauce. Adjust the amount of sauce you use based on your own preference. Spoon mixture back into the empty shell. 
8. Sprinkle half of the fresh basil leaves and half of the cherry tomatoes on each squash half. Grate the parmesan cheese over top and top each side with 3 slices of the mozzarella cheese.
9. Broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt. Top with additional basil (optional) and pine nuts. Serve and enjoy!

Blistered Tomato, Burrata & Pesto Flatbread

The warmth of summer is here and I couldn't be happier about it! As sad as I am to see the spring season go, I am looking forward to the easy living the Summer months provide. We recently added a golden retriever puppy to our family, so in between keeping up with her and our work schedules, I am always looking for simple yet delicious dinner ideas. This recipe was inspired by my recent trip to our farmer's market where I was so excited to see the most beautiful tomatoes and bundles of fresh basil. This blistered tomato, burrata and pesto flatbread comes together in minutes and is loaded with amazing flavor. 

When you use quality ingredients, you don't need to add a lot to them. I used a mix of fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced shallots and drizzled them with olive oil and Maldon sea salt. If you are making this for a party, you could do this step ahead of time and then just reheat them right before placing them on the flatbread.

I blended up a fresh batch of pesto for this recipe but you could certainly use a jar of store bought pesto. I could eat it by the spoonful ;)

The smell you get from the blistered tomatoes is amazing! It always reminds me of when I'm shopping in a William Sonoma store. Have you ever noticed how amazing it always smells in that store?

Assembling the flatbread is so simple. I spread a few spoonfuls of the pesto on top of the flatbread, added torn pieces of the burrata cheese, and topped it with the blistered tomatoes. For a little kick, I also added a few red pepper flakes. I can't even tell you how incredible this flavor combination is! 

This flatbread is perfect as an appetizer for a summer party or it makes for an amazing easy dinner served along side a summer salad. It can also easily be altered to fit any dietary restrictions with a gluten free crust, dairy free cheese, etc.  

I hope you add this recipe to your summer menu! I would love to hear what some of your favorite summer recipes are, so be sure to comment below or on my Instagram :)

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Blistered Tomato, Burrata & Pesto Flatbread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 flatbread OR 1/2 pound pizza dough
• 2 cups fresh burrata cheese, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup pesto 
• 1 cup blistered cherry tomatoes
• Maldon sea salt
• cracked black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes to garnish

Blistered Tomatoes:

• 1 cup cheery tomatoes
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler. In a medium baking dish, toss the cherry tomatoes, shallot and olive oil and season with Maldon sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes pop and are lightly brown. 
2. Preheat the oven to 400 (450 degrees for pizza dough) degrees. Place the flatbread on a baking sheet and lightly brush olive oil on top. Bake for 3-5 minutes (for pizza dough 8-12 minutes) till golden. Remove from oven and top with pesto and torn fresh burrata cheese. Let the burrata melt (can place back in the oven for a minute to speed up the process) before topping with the blistered tomatoes. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes (optional). Slice and enjoy! 

Lemon Chicken

As I sit here sipping warm lemon tea on a rainy afternoon, I am reminded of why this recipe came so easily to me. This season, in particular, I have been obsessed with citrus as well as getting healthy meals on the table. Through those series of events, I combined the two ideas and this incredibly easy, delicious and healthy lemon chicken recipe was born! It is packed with all of my favorite flavors and pairs well with just about any sides you serve it with. 

I know you might be thinking to yourself, "another chicken recipe, how good can it be?" I think when you choose a few high quality ingredients, "another chicken recipe" can be transformed. I absolutely love Meyer lemons, so I used them in this recipe and it gives this dish amazing flavor! 

I seasoned and seared both sides of the chicken breasts before I added the lemon and herb sauce to it. I then finished it in the oven. This allows the chicken to get a good sear while not drying it out.

To lock in all of the amazing flavors this dish has to offer, I spooned the mixture over the dish throughout the cooking time. This also helped keep the chicken juicy and tender.

My husband and I have been making more of an effort to eat dinner at the dinner table instead of piecing a meal together in front of the TV. For some this may sound easy, while others it might be a struggle. With a very simple table setting, this was the perfect meal for my husband and I to enjoy together. Recipes like this allow you to get dinner on the table quickly so you can focus on what's really important. 

I made this recipe to serve for two since it was just my husband and I, but you could easily double or triple the recipe depending on how many mouths you need to feed! It also makes for amazing leftovers if you make a batch at the beginning of the week to enjoy throughout the week. I would love to hear how you enjoy this recipe, so be sure to let me know! :)

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Lemon Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbs. butter 
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 3 Tbs. fresh Meyer lemon juice
• 1 tsp. dried herbs 
• 1/2 tsp. salt, additional for seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. pepper, additional for seasoning
• Dash of seasoning salt 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a medium cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook chicken 2-3 minutes per side, until browned but not cooked all the way through.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the chicken broth, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper and seasoning salt.  Pour the sauce directly over the chicken in the pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through. Spoon the sauce from the pan over the chicken every 5-10 minutes. 
4. Garnish with fresh rosemary and lemon slices and enjoy! 

One Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies

After a brief hiatus over the Summer, I could not be happier to be back in the kitchen and back to this ol' blog of mine! I took some time off while my husband and I relocated from living in Southern California back to Northern California. We are thrilled to get back to our roots and be closer to our families and friends. As someone who likes to cook, having to pack and unpack our kitchen was one of the hardest parts for me. We are finally (almost) unpacked, which means I can actually cook again! I found myself looking for easy, healthy and comforting meals which lead me to come up with this incredibly tasty one sheet pan meal. It is perfect for the upcoming Fall season, an easy weeknight meal, and it also makes for amazing leftovers to have throughout the week. 

I am so excited that I can finally grow a mini herb garden since our new kitchen gets a lot of great natural light. I used our homegrown herbs, mixed with farmers market vegetables and chicken. With minimal prep work involved, dinner practically made itself. 

I used a combination of all of the vegetables we had on hand: carrots, mini tomatoes, broccoli, bell peppers, red potatoes, mushrooms and red onion. You could certainly use any and all vegetables for this dish! 

When I first tested out the recipe, there was not enough flavor, so the second time around I added cumin and paprika. Those two spices helped to elevate the flavors without being overpowering. I also used a mix of fresh and dried herbs. 

It took me about 15 minutes to get the veggies and chicken chopped and mix up the spices. Once it was all combined, I put it all on a sheet pan and topped it with some fresh thyme. It really is that easy :)

This dish makes the kitchen smell amazing when it's cooking! What you end up with is a healthy and comforting meal all in one. Since I added potatoes to ours, we didn't feel a need to serve it over rice but you could definitely serve it over rice or your favorite starch. It is also really yummy served on top of a salad. 

Aside from the minimal prep and cook time, the best part is that it makes for very easy clean up. This time of year I am always looking for easy make ahead meals and this one definitely checks all the boxes. My husband and I will be making this meal a lot this season. :) 

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One Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 2-3 red potatoes 
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1/2- 1 cup of grape or plum tomatoes (I used 1 cup)
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1-1/2 cups bell peppers, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped 
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, for garnish

Spice Mix:

• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. dried herbs
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme
• Dash of worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 3-4 Tbs. olive or avocado oil (depending on the amount of meat and veggies you use)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. 
2. Chop all of the veggies into large pieces. On a separate cutting board, chop up the chicken into cubes. 
3. In a bowl, combine the veggies, garlic. Add in the chopped chicken and coat the mixture with the oil, salt and pepper.  
4. In a small bowl, mix all of the spices together. 
5. Pour the spice mixture over the chicken and veggie mixture. Coat evenly. 
6. Place the mixture onto the sheet pan and top with sprigs of fresh thyme. 
7. Bake for 15-25 minutes depending on your oven, until the veggies are charred and the chicken has cooked through. 
8. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!