In Tuscany, bruschetta is really just deliciously toasted bread that is rubbed with fresh garlic and topped with super-ripe tomatoes—at their harvest peak. The word “bruschetta” means toasted (or literally burned). By slicing the chicken breasts in half horizontally, the grill time is cut in half.
This take on coconut-coated chicken is a fusion of Latin-American flavors. It brings back memories of a mid-winter trip to Jamaica, where the melding of sweet and incendiary spices flavor many dishes. Tropical fruit sauces help temper the heat—vary the fruits you toss together for salsas. The key is to dice or blend the fruits together, with a squeeze of fresh lime and shower of cilantro leaves.
Blending up sweet mango with spicy chipotle chiles creates a surprising pizza sauce with a deliciously slow burn. Look for prepared pizza dough in the refrigerator case or substitute frozen bread dough for a chewy crust. Handle the Heat created this recipe from an ingredient list submitted by Pamela S., who won a grand prize in the Just Bare Chicken +5 Ingredient Challenge.
Empanadas, or little pastry turnovers, are the essence of portability. In South America, empanadas are made with a huge variety of fillings, from savory to sweet. And the pastry dough is more like a cross between pie pastry and bread, but using pre-made pastry dough makes this simple—and really delicious.
Cooking in parchment paper is automatically makes your heart happy, as you can cook low-fat chicken with just a nice dribble of olive oil and a splash of wine—and any number of delicious, full-flavored seasonings that boost flavor without a lot of extra calories.
Encourage your family to give suspect root vegetables a test drive, under the guise of a comforting plate filled with golden chicken, mashed “potatoes”, and a buttery pan sauce.
Just 5 Cooking Challenge finalist Deborah M. of Vacaville, CA created this recipe for savory stuffed chicken breasts. The mildly tangy taste of goat cheese pairs well with assertive sun-dried tomatoes.
The benefits of a fiber-rich diet, along with the increased intake of B-vitamins and a wide variety of minerals, are undisputed. But don’t ignore how great whole grains taste—experiment with the exploding availability of interesting rice blends, unique pastas, and grains like barley.
Lightly mashing up a dish of raspberries with the sweet-tart of vinegar and honey instantly becomes a sauce to dress up grilled chicken or to toss with fresh baby greens. Serve on a bed of quick-cooking quinoa or whole-grain bulgur wheat for a fresh summertime supper.
“Swiss” enchiladas are made with a cheese sauce, a southwestern variation of more traditional enchiladas. This version is stacked in a deep-dish pie plate—a faster technique than filling and rolling up individual tortillas.