Ok so it has been a super busy week for me with work and seeing friends, I have done a fair few late shifts in work and have been shuffling around town buying bits and bobs and organising a million things. I was working today and then saw my mother very briefly towards the end of my shift (thanks for the lift to the supermarket mum), then visited a friend of mine who had fallen off a ladder and was in hospital, as chance would have it the hospital is just opposite the supermarket and then home to cook dinner and do laundry.
I don’t know if anyone else is having the small problem of summer flies in their homes? But in the past week or so our house just buzzes with the crazy things. So this morning before leaving for work I sprayed the place top to toe with fly killer (I’m sure I could have done this more humanely) but I sprayed the house chanting ‘die suckers’… Came home to a morgue! Had to spend an hour or more cleaning of course as that spray is pretty dreadful and now the house is spick and span AND fly free… Yaysies!
However then realising it’s a little later than I expected and that D was going out for Friday pints with his work buddies at nine, I had to try getting dinner ready in a rush. I have recently (since starting this blog) come to feel that when I open my fridge that it is somewhat similar to the mystery box challenge on Masterchef. As one is never quite sure what there is inside. And with all the little trips to the market this past week, I found that I had somehow bought four packets of vine cherry tomatoes and a big bunch of salad tomatoes. What was I thinking? There was also some lovely chicken breast fillets, a packet of smoked streaky bacon, a sliver of leftover feta and two pieces of stale sourdough bread… Oven roasted tomato salad with grilled chicken. Winner winner chicken dinner!
When I mentioned the concept of this dinner to D, he was not impressed. I think he was wondering where were the spuds but when it came to presenting him with his dinner he was a happy camper. This was one of the tastiest and easiest quick dinners I have thrown together in ages. Apparently we can have this dinner all the time as D totally loved it and even ate the portion I had made for his lunch tomorrow.
I know you all probably make this type of dish all the time but I wanted to include it as it was inexpensive (a big plus these days) and super healthy (even better). So I hope you enjoy.
OVEN ROASTED TOMATO SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN
For the salad:
- About 250g cherry tomatoes, cut in half and
- 4 larger salad tomatoes, cut in half
- a small handful of basil, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- a sprinkling of oregano
- 40g of feta (if you have more then feel free to load it up)
- 2 pieces of smoked streaky bacon, diced
- 2 pieces of sourdough bread cut into tiny 1cm cubes
- 1tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the chicken:
- 2-3 chicken breats, cut in half sideways
- 1tsp of Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp olive oil
- pepper
garnish with shredded basil leaves
THE HOW
Heat your oven to 150 degrees. In a mixing bowl place the tomatoes, garlic, herbs, oil and seasoning and mix. Leave this to marinade for a few minutes. At the same time mix the dijon and oil and pepper in a bowl and add your chicken. with your hands make sure the chicken is coated and leave covered for a few minutes. Place the tomatoes in the middle of the oven on a baking tray for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile put your bacon into a pan, with a touch of oil to fry gently till slightly browning and then add the sourdough cubes. Mix until the bread has absorbed all the juices from the bacon and set aside.
Heat a griddle pan and put the chicken on to sear (2-3 minutes each side). Place on a baking tray and put into the oven.
When the tomatoes are at the point of melting and browning just a touch, add on top of them the feta (crumbled over) and the bacon and bread mix. Place back into the oven for 10 mintues. At this point I poured a glass of wine and went to hang up the washing. By which time the dinner was ready to plate and serve. Yum!
Kitchen Feasts 