Food blogging really has taken over as the cool thing to do. Even people I went to middle and high school with are catching on to the trend. My friend Ava, who I’ve known for a while now, has always loved to cook. She’s 100% Italian and stays true to her roots with some seriously delicious Italian recipes. Ava recently started her own blog and is now sharing things like Chipotle Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and her clean-eating grocery list. I love that Ava has taken the plunge into food blogging and I am extremely excited to have her here today to share one of her recipes with you!
Hello Take a Bite Out of Boca Readers!
My name is Ava, I am a self proclaimed foodie, dinner party enthusiast, blogger, and most importantly, friend of Shaina. Shaina and I have been friends for quite some time; I believe that we met in middle school and have stayed in touch through the years. Her and I have been exchanging emails and text messages about her blog, recipes and other food suggestions for years now and I was more than excited when she asked me to do a feature post!
The recipe I chose to share with all of you is Grilled Eggplant and Chicken Stacks with a Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce. This recipe sounds and tastes complicated, but it is really delicious and easy to whip up on a weekday night. This recipe is also great for feeding a small crowd because it isn’t costly and you can always double or triple the recipe to your needs. I hope you all enjoy!
Grilled Squash and Chicken Stacks with Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
1 medium eggplant, cut into rounds
6 chicken cutlets
1 15 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes- I used Hunt’s
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
½ red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
Splash of red wine
1 tsp crushed red pepper
Fresh parsley, coarsely chopped or torn
Salt
Pepper
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees and heat a grill pan over high heat. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper and brush with 1 tbsp olive oil. Once the pan is hot, cook the cutlets on each side for 2-3 minutes and place on baking tray and pop into the oven to keep warm. Next, brush eggplant slices with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper and grill on each side for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Once eggplant is tender, add to same tray as chicken and pop back into the oven to keep both warm while sauce cooks. In a skillet over medium heat, add remaining tbsp of olive oil and onion and cook until tender. Next, add the garlic and the crushed red pepper, and cook for about 30 seconds to get the flavor going, you do not want to cook the garlic or burn the pepper. Add splash of red wine. Add the can of fire roasted tomatoes and stir. Cook for 10-15 minutes while stirring often. You want the sauce to thicken a little bit and the alcohol of the wine to cook out a little. When sauce is finished, add parsley. Take your warm chicken and squash out of the oven and assemble as follows: eggplant, chicken, Parmesan cheese, sauce, and repeat.
*Tip: This would work wonderful with grilled squash, too!
Thanks, Ava! That sauce is so bright and vibrant. I don’t know how anyone could resist such a beautiful looking plate of food. I hope you guys enjoyed Ava’s guest spot and will show her some love! Follow her blog HERE!
Thanks, Ava! That sauce is so bright and vibrant. I don’t know how anyone could resist such a beautiful looking plate of food. I hope you guys enjoyed Ava’s guest spot and will show her some love! Follow her blog HERE!
