tomato | Brown Eyes and a Smile

Italian Chicken

I forget how much I love being with the campus community. All my friends live within a one mile radius, so someone is always popping by the house. This might inhibit productivity, but it greatly improves student satisfaction!

In other news, I have been an iPhone 6 owner for ten days. I only dropped it once so far (probably a record for me), and although I harbored a bit of skepticism with the bigger screen, I quickly adjusted and now love it.

Back to the community that I love… My boss just stopped over with tomatoes from his garden, so what was I to do? Cook with them, of course! Thus, I made Italian Chicken, a simple weeknight dish.

Italian Chicken

1/2 lb chicken tenderloins

2 medium tomatoes

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add chicken and season with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Brown and cook chicken (about 3 minutes each side), and remove to place in baking dish. Top chicken with a single layer of sliced tomatoes and parmesan cheese and bake for 7 minutes. Serve when the cheese looks delicious and gooey!

SO MANY VEGETABLES. That’s what I thought this week after our CSA delivery. However, it’s important to note I didn’t view this as a problem; rather, I immediately planned to make a salad. Summer Veggie Salad with Herb Vinaigrette resulted from my planning, so there we were eating our vegetables and herbs. As you’ll gather, the salad works with any raw veggies, the fresher the better, so throw in what you have. I listed the vegetables I used below, since I loved the mix.

Summer Veggie Salad

2 ears of corn

1 cucumber

1 zucchini

2 heirloom tomatoes

3 carrots

Herb Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp basil

1 tsp sage

1 tsp chives

salt and pepper

Boil water for corn, and cook corn for about 3-4 minutes. Roughly chop all veggies, and combine in a large bowl. If warm, rinse corn under cold water to cool, then cut off from cob. In a container with a lid, combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dijon, basil, sage, and chives, and shake to combine. Season veggies with salt and pepper, and toss with vinaigrette. Let salad sit covered for 15 minutes to let flavors blend.