Fresh mozzarella. Tomato. Basil. Such a classic and delicious combination. Usually when I have these ingredients I’ll make a classic caprese salad with a nice balsamic dressing. But we had that for dinner last night, so tonight I needed to be a little creative while the mozzarella was still fresh.

So tonight, I decided to take the classic a step further and turn it into a main course by adding some balsamic chicken to the mix. This is a super easy and quick weeknight meal that only takes about 15 minutes start to finish.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I always have these in the freezer)
• 1 Tbsp spicy mustard
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp bouquet garni (or other italian style herbs– rosemary, basil, oregano)
• 1/2 lb fresh mozzarella
• 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
• 6 basil leaves, finely chopped

This served 2 people with extra bruschetta topping which I added to a salad. If you needed 4 servings, the only thing you’d need to increase was the number of chicken breasts.

The preparation is super easy. First you want to mix a balsamic marinade for the chicken. The trick to a nice thick marinade is either a lot of olive oil or a lot of mustard. Since I am a life long weight watcher, I opt for the mustard, but still added some olive oil to add some richness. In a jar (or however you mix your salad dressing or marinades) combine mustard, balsamic, olive oil, garlic salt and bouquet garni. Add chicken and marinade in a gallon bag, seal and shake well until chicken is fully coated. This is one of my favorite ways to marinade chicken because the clean up is super easy.  Let this rest for a few minutes while you prepare the bruschetta topping. To prepare the bruschetta cube fresh mozzarella, slice cherry tomatoes into quarters and finely chop the basil. Mix gently to combine. So simple and so beautiful. If you have larger tomatoes, you can thinly slice both the mozzarella and the tomatoes and layer them onto the chicken.  Cook the chicken covered over medium heat until cooked through. My chicken cooked in 9 minutes (4.5 on each side). Now, the balsamic will make your pan look like things are burning and not going well, but that’s just the sugars caramelizing. As long as you cover your chicken and cook it over medium heat it will stay really moist, I promise!

Once the chicken is cooked through, you have 2 options: you could either add the bruschetta as a cold topping and let the heat of the chicken slightly melt the mozzarella cheese. This would be nice on a warm summer day. Since it’s a bit colder, I went with option 2 which is to top the chicken with the bruschetta and stick it under the broiler for for about 90 seconds to let the cheese melt without overcooking the chicken. 

I served this with a salad, but you could also serve it as a sandwich or with some steamed veggies. Either way it’s a beautiful and super versatile meal that’s perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Usually when I do my grocery shopping I do it with some specific meals in mind. This means I have all the ingredients picked out and there’s very little room for improvisation. But then other nights (towards the end of the week) I end up with some random ingredients and have the challenge of bringing them together into a delicious meal. These nights are usually the fun nights. We’ve already talked about one option– vegetable fried rice.

This recipe is actually from about 6 weeks ago, but in looking back through the archive of photos (whenever I cook I take them… it’s actually taking the time to post that throws me off) this recipe for creamy veggie pasta has some fun tips in it that are worth sharing. Since some produce is out of season we can also talk about substitutions.

The star tip in this dish is how to make a healthier version of creamy sauce. If I’m feeling like I need a bit of indulgence this is my go to base sauce. It’s super easy and fun to modify as well!

First, gather your leftover ingredients from the fridge. I had this on hand:

• 2 medium yellow squash (you can still find zucchini or you can use any winter squash except spaghetti squash)
• kernels from 1 ear of corn ( 1 cup frozen corn works better than canned to best imitate fresh corn)
• 4 oz mixed mushrooms
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes (any small tomato is fine, don’t chop up a large one though).
• Slightly more than 1 cup pasta (I used whole wheat rotini, which is what I had on hand, but you can use any pasta that is good for holding sauces).

Cook pasta according to package directions and to your desired consistency. My trick for whole wheat pasta is to cook it a few minutes longer than recommended to get rid of that extra bite that it has.

At the same time you put on the pot of water, cut up the squash into small cubes. (If you are using a winter squash, peel it first) and add to a dry pan. Add about 2 Tbsp water to the pan so the squash doesn’t stick. Cover and cook until the squash are mostly soft (this will take longer for winter squash, and you may need more water). I like to use water whenever I can to save on how much oil or butter goes into a dish. The trick here is to have enough to help cook the squash, but not too much that the dish gets watery.

Next, slice the mushrooms to the size that you like and add them to the pan with about 1/2 tsp of garlic salt. The salt will help draw water out of the mushrooms and continue to help the ingredients not stick to the pan. After a few minutes, the mushrooms should be browned. Add in the spinach  and cook until wilted. Add in the corn and cherry tomatoes and cook until just heated through. You can see that by this point, the squash has almost melted and started to create it’s own creamy sauce.

Once the vegetables are ready, remove from pan and set aside. Here is the part where you make the fanciest quick sauce you’ve ever made. Chances are you will say to yourself “how did I never make this before! I’m going to use it all the time!” It’s seriously that easy and that impressive. Add 1 Tbsp butter to the pan where you had the vegetables (no need to rinse it) and set it over medium heat. Once the butter has melted add 1 Tbsp flour and stir with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be bubbly and light brown. Once you’ve gotten the clumps out and the butter and flour have come together, add 1 cup skim milk and stir with spoon or whisk to make the mixture as smooth as possible. You can use a different type of milk if you don’t like skim. The heavier your milk, the quicker the next step will take. If you are using skim milk just be patient. I promise this will come together! Stir constantly (you can take a few breaks now and then) until sauce has thickened. You can tell it’s the right consistency when you can draw a line on the back of your spoon and it will hold (the bits you see in the photo are the remnants of the vegetables from earlier, whose flavor is now in the sauce!) At this point you can add Parmesan cheese or even a few dashes of hot pepper or hot sauce to taste. That’s it!!

Then just throw the rest of your ingredients back in and toss to coat. What you end up with is this beautiful pasta that has freshness from the corn and tomatoes and richness from the squash and mushrooms. When eating this dish, my husband (who is not a foodie but may be becoming one) said “the burst of the cherry tomatoes adds a pop of brightness to the dish.” This dish is light enough for a late summer dinner and warm enough for a fall night.

What did you think of that creamy sauce? Super easy right? You can use that base of 1 part butter, 1 part flour, and milk as a base for mac and cheese as well. Once the sauce has thickened you can throw in some shredded cheese and mix. The cheese will melt really quickly and then toss that with the pasta!