Pesto Chicken Sandwiches

I'm a big fan of repurposing leftovers, and Paul had a great idea this week, We had leftover grilled chicken breasts, that had been marinated in a little olive oil and herbs de provence. Paul suggested we make pesto chicken sandwiches with the leftover pieces. 

We threw together a quick pesto (basil leaves, some leftover chopped walnuts, olive oil, Parmesan cheese... I forgot garlic!) in the food processor. I think the pesto looks so dark because we used walnuts instead of pine nuts. which are lighter in color.
 

We served them on hoagie buns, with a smear of pesto, some melted mozzarella and tomato slices. Delicious! Easy to make and cheaper than going out for lunch on Sunday.

Collard Green Phyllo Triangles

Left with a single pear and some collard greens, I whipped up some collard green phyllo triangles. I used this recipe, which was pretty easy. The only thing that can be a little challenging is that the phyllo dough can dry out really quickly when you're making the triangles. And you have to plan enough ahead of time to thaw the phyllo dough. 

Chopping the greens and shallot

Cooking the collard mixture with some olive oil and garlic

Assembling the triangles, with the collard mixture and a slice of pear on top

Ready for the oven!

Crispy and ready to eat!

We had these as a tasty little appetizer before dinner. The collards can be a little intense, so you could lighten them up with more pear or use a different green like spinach and change the flavor up a little. The recipe also suggests blending in a little tofu, so I imagine a soft, mild cheese would also work.

Spanish Panzanella Salad

Last week, we made a fun Spanish panzanella salad from Wholesome Kitchen. The salad was SUPER easy to make, and really tasty! I really like warm or slightly warm salads in the winter -- they just add something a little seasonal. 

Instead of regular chorizo, I picked up some chicken sausage chorizo. We didn't lose any flavor, and definitely cut down on the fat content and (possible) oiliness of the salad. I also used regular paprika instead of Spanish smoked sweet paprika (not for lack of trying -- I couldn't find any at the store). That may have changed the flavor slightly, but I imagine it was not noticeable. The spinach wilts a little with the heat of the other ingredients and the warmed oil from the pan.

A great change-up from a traditional Italian panzanella salad -- we'll definitely make this again!

Summer Squash with Baked Eggs

I really like weekend breakfast. I'm a coffee and granola bar on the go kind of girl during the week, so when I have the time to cook something yummy on the weekend to enjoy in the morning, I am all over it. We had some leftover grilled zucchini and yellow squash from earlier in the week, so I looked for a recipe to incorporate those items (that wasn't simply adding them to an omelet). I found this delicious looking one -- and decided to make it.

Making use of that grater attachment on the food processor.

Start off by grating the squash and zucchini. Combine the grated vegetables with 1 tsp. of salt and let drain for 30 minutes. 

Draining the liquid helps crisp up the vegetables and keep it from getting soggy.

While the vegetables are draining, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

In an ovenproof skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the shallots, garlic and paprika for just a couple minutes, until fragrant (I think it was about 2 minutes?). Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the squash and zucchini, then add it to the pan. Add the tomatoes, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
 

We used cherry tomatoes, but I'm sure you could use any tomatoes you have on hand. I like the way cherry tomatoes come out after being in the oven.

While everything is cooking up, prepare the goat cheese and chiffonade the basil. I cut up some sourdough bread we had in the house as well.

The creaminess of chevre (the goat cheese) is awesome for breakfast.

Once the skillet is ready, mix in the basil and goat cheese.
 

That may be more than 4 oz of goat cheese. Oh well.

After mixing in the cheese and basil, make four small wells in the mixture. Pour a little olive oil in each well, and then crack an egg into the well. Top each egg with salt, pepper and a sprinkle of paprika. 
 

I used the recipe's suggested method of cracking the egg into a small bowl, and the pouring it into the well for three of the eggs. I'm sure you have no idea which one I did differently.

Bake until egg whites are set, but yolks are still soft -- about 10 minutes. The eggs will continue to cook in the hot pan after you remove it from the oven, so if you like your eggs goopy, you'll need to make your move quickly to get it out of the pan (so that it won't continue to cook and harden up). 
 

Hot out of the oven and ready to go!

I used a flat plastic spatula to cut the mixture into servings. It was pretty easy to scoop out with the egg whites being set. 

Summery breakfast!

I thought that this turned out great. Although it seems a little counter intuitive to turn on the oven in the summer, this was worth it. Some of the reviewers for the recipe talk about cooking it completely on the stove, which is also an option if you don't want to fire up the oven in the summer.

The softness of the egg yolk and the creaminess of the goat cheese go really well together. The squash and zucchini make a nice crispy base. I'm interested in trying this with some other vegetables -- maybe using sweet potatoes as part of the base in addition or in replacement of either the squash or the zucchini.