Mediterranean Grain Salad

The second installation for Operation: Expand Horizons is a simple dish from the folks at Martha Stewart's magazine Everyday Food called Mediterranean Grain Salad.  The original version is slated as a vegetarian main serving one, but I decided to serve it as a side dish in my pregnancy-related craze to pack more veggies onto my plate at every meal.

As are all of the creations of the folks at Everyday Food, this dish wasn't difficult or ground-breaking.  It's a basic riff on classic tabouli salad, sans cucumber- soaked bulgur wheat, tomatoes, fresh parsley, and a simple vinaigrette of minced shallot, red wine vinegar, and olive oil, with the nontraditional inclusion of goat cheese. 

Being a fan of tabouli, I knew I'd like this one.  My husband, as expected (not a tabouli fan), passed, but 4 year old Eva enjoyed it.

I made one small adjustment in my preparation- leaving out the goat cheese.  First, I knew I'd be serving this as a side instead of a main, and didn't want to add more fat to my plate.  Second, goat cheese is freakin' expensive, and part of my adventures in the kitchen is to make good food on a reasonable budget.

All in all, a modicum of success was achieved.  I will make this simple salad again when I have some lovely garden-grown tomatoes this summer.

Note the sunny yellow tomatoes- sweet and lovely in salads.

I ate the salad as a side with grilled pork chop, steamed green beans, and mashed potatoes.

Chicken Parmesan, Baked Ditalini, and Bruschetta

Chicken Parmesan is one of those dishes that so many Italian restaurants do poorly, but it's ridiculously simple.  I can't tell you how many times I've had one that's greasy, over-sauced, and dripping with too much melted cheese.  You can eat a breaded chicken breast that's not completely unhealthy!

Chicken Parmesan
Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten with a bit of milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (PLEASE don't use the crap in the green can!)
1 Tbsp. dried Italian herbs, or 1 tsp. each dried basil, oregano, and marjoram
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Olive oil
Homemade or jarred pasta sauce, about 2 cups
Additional grated Parmesan cheese, if desired, for serving

Heat oven to 400º.  Drizzle olive oil into the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish to coat.

Place the flour on a dinner plate and season with salt and pepper.  Put the beaten egg and milk in a shallow bowl.  Mix the dried herbs and Parmesan cheese with the bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl.

Working one at a time, dredge each chicken breast into the seasoned flour, shake off excess, dip in beaten egg, and roll in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to adhere.  Place each breaded breast in the prepared baking dish.

Bake until the edges and tops of the chicken are golden brown and juices run clear, about 20 minutes.  While the chicken is baking, simmer the pasta sauce in a small pan until slightly thickened.

Serve each chicken breast with some sauce spooned over, and sprinkle on additional grated Parmesan, if desired.

Chicken Parmesan and baked ditalini

On the side of chicken parm at restaurants is usually a pile of spaghetti marinara.  My husband asked for some baked ziti or something similar, and so I made this simple dish.  He prefers baked pasta that is not loaded down with cheese, and that is heavier on tomatoes.

Instead of ziti, I used ditalini, which are tube-shaped like ziti but much shorter, making them kid-friendly and good for soaking up all the sauce.  I simply boiled about a cup of dry pasta in salted water until it was *almost* done, mixed it in a shallow baking dish with a generous amount of pasta sauce, covered it with foil, and baked it alongside the chicken.  After it was hot and bubbling, I tossed some Parmesan on top.

For an appetizer, we went further with the crazy tomato goodness by having bruschetta on fresh French bread.

Bruschetta (say it correctly, please- broos-KET-uh, not broo-SHET-uh) is super simple and very customizable.  I diced 3 tomatoes, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, and mixed in some freeze-dried basil, olive oil, salt and pepper, and a splash of balsamic vinegar.  After chilling briefly, the concoction is spooned over slices of crusty bread.  You can toast the slices first with a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Buon appetito!

Chicken Saltimbocca with roasted red potatoes and cucumber-tomato salad

Oh yeah. This is what I'm talkin' about...an easy-peasy dinner that looks awesome but is super simple to make and tastes delicious.

I had never tried Chicken Saltimbocca before seeing it featured on an episode of America's Test Kitchen. I snagged the recipe and have made it twice now. It's perfect for impressing company while not spending all night in the kitchen.

"Saltimbocca" apparently means "jumps in the mouth" in Italian, which is what the flavors of this dish are supposed to do. It's a simple combination of sage and prosciutto that I really like.


Chicken Saltimbocca
serves 4

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally into cutlets
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned generously with fresh black pepper
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
4 thin slices prosciutto (not shaved, just thinly sliced)
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle on just a bit of kosher salt. Dredge the chicken in the peppered flour and shake off the excess. Lay the cutlets flat, divide the chopped sage between them (one side only), and press gently to adhere. Press a slice of prosciutto on top of each cutlet, over the sage.

Heat about 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place each cutlet in the pan gently, prosciutto-side down, and cook for about 3 minutes. Flip and cook through. Serve. (I wound up flipping a second time to get the cutlets cooked thoroughly and nicely browned.)


I served the chicken with some roasted red potatoes and an easy salad of summer's favorite veggies. I drizzled sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkled salt and pepper over them, and crumbled some feta cheese on top. So good!


The roasted red potatoes were super simple, too. I just scrubbed some small ones, cubed them (skins on, of course!), and tossed them in a roasting pan with a sliced shallot, olive oil, and garlic salt and pepper. I roasted them in my oven on the convection setting at 400º for about 20 minutes, give or take, until they were fragrant and starting to brown.

Delish!