tomatoes

Perfect Marinara Sauce

I haven’t used store-bought marinara sauce for several years, and if you’ve never made your own, I highly recommend you do. I like that you know exactly what’s in it, can control the amount of sugar and sodium, and tailor it to your taste. It’s best when tomatoes are in season and you can cook down fresh ones, but in the winter, I use canned San Marzano tomatoes. They’re sweet, not overly acidic, and have less seeds than other varieties, making them ideal for sauce. Make a large batch, let it cool, and freeze it plastic containers for future use. 

Perfect Marinara
Yields 1
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Ingredients
  1. 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  2. 1/2 cup chopped onion
  3. 2 cloves minced garlic
  4. 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
  5. 28 oz. canned San Marzano tomatoes
  6. Dash or red pepper flakes (optional)
  7. 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  8. 1 tablespoon sugar
  9. 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  10. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  11. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, and stir until slightly melted.
  2. Add the canned tomatoes, red pepper flakes, oregano, sugar, and salt and pepper.
  3. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes, until thickened.
  4. Let cool. With an immersion blended (or in a food processor or blender), puree until smooth.
  5. Stir in the fresh basil.
  6. Store in refrigerator if using in a day or two, or freeze for later use.
Seasoned to Impress https://seasonedtoimpress.com/

Summer Vegetable White Pizza

Trying to incorporate more vegetables into your meals? Add them to pizza! This white pizza is loaded with squash, tomatoes, and fresh basil and topped with a mix of mozzarella and creamy garlic and herb cheese. I like making my own dough, but store-bought will work just fine, too. And if you don’t have a grill, make the pizza in your oven. Read my directions here.

Grilled Summer Vegetable White Pizza
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For the Pizza Dough
  1. 2 1/4 teaspoons (.25 ounce) active dry yeast
  2. 1 teaspoon white sugar
  3. 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
  4. 2 1/2 cups bread flour
  5. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  6. 1 teaspoon salt
For the Toppings
  1. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  2. 1 cup very thinly sliced zucchini
  3. 1 cup very thinly sliced yellow squash
  4. 1 plum tomato thinly sliced
  5. 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
  6. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  7. 8 oz. grated mozzarella cheese
  8. 2 oz. garlic and herb soft, spreadable cheese
  9. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  10. 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  11. 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  12. Red pepper flakes, to taste
For the Dough
  1. In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in flour, salt, and oil. Kneed until smooth.
  3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes.
  4. With a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to desired thickness.
  5. Transfer to a well-greased pizza pan.
For Assembling
  1. Brush rolled-out dough with olive oil.
  2. Place slices of tomatoes evenly on the crust, and sprinkle with minced garlic, dried oregano, and chopped basil.
  3. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
  4. Place slices of zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion evenly on top of the cheese.
  5. Season with kosher salt and red pepper flakes.
  6. Add small spoonfuls of garlic herb cheese evenly on pizza.
For Grilling
  1. Turn on all burners of the grill, and preheat to 450-500 degrees for at least 5 minutes.
  2. Spray or brush the grill grates with cooking spray or oil.
  3. Place the pizza on the pan on the grill grates. Close the grill lid, and turn all burners down to low (to heat the top of the pizza) for about 5-8 minutes.
  4. After that amount of time, with a potholder, grab ahold of the pizza pan, and gently shake it to test whether the dough is loose from the pan. If it's not loose, close the lid of the grill and cook for an additional minute or so. If it's loose from the pan, gently slide the pizza off the pan and onto the grates of grill (you might need to gently slide a spatula under the crust).
  5. Turn all burners to medium heat, and close the lid. With a metal spatula, rotate pizza 45 degrees every 30-60 seconds, until the crust is evenly crisp.
  6. Slide pizza back onto pan, and cut and serve.
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Seasoned to Impress https://seasonedtoimpress.com/

Bruschetta Chicken

I have a love/hate relationship with chicken, especially boneless chicken breasts. If they aren’t marinaded with strong flavors or covered with sauce and cooked just right, I can barely swallow a bite. This recipe meets those standards — coated with basil pesto, topped with diced tomatoes, red onion, basil, and parmesan cheese, and baked until perfectly juicy. 

Bruschetta Chicken
Serves 4
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
25 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
25 min
Ingredients
  1. 3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut in half
  2. 3 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
  3. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  4. 1 cup diced tomatoes
  5. 1/4 cup diced red onion
  6. 1 clove garlic, minced
  7. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
  8. 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  9. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  10. Ground black pepper
  11. 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese.
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place pieces in a large ziploc bag and add pesto and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss around in bag to coat chicken. Remove chicken from bag and place in a greased baking dish.
  3. In a large bowl, add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine.
  4. Top the chicken pieces with the tomato mixture.
  5. Cover and bake for 20 minutes or until juices run clear.
  6. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese, return to oven uncovered, and allow cheese to melt, about 3 minutes.
Seasoned to Impress https://seasonedtoimpress.com/