Grilled Chicken with Pesto Cauliflower

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bertolli. The opinions and text are all mine.

As you know by now, we only make simple recipes. We try to live a simple life overall and that definitely applies to our cooking! We don't want to spend all day in the kitchen, we have trails to explore! So don't let the ingredients and steps fool you in this recipe. It is a very simple recipe to create and it tastes delicious!

There are essentially only five ingredients (not including any of the spices!): chicken, Bertolli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, kumquats, purple cauliflower, and Bertolli balsamic vinegar. You may have noticed from many of our other recipes that we use organic extra virgin olive oil consistently. It's important to pick a good olive oil though and they are not created equal! Bertolli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is non-GMO and verified USDA Organic, made from organic olives, and produced using organic farming standards. Number one oil brand in the world with over 150 years of expertise in olive oil blending

We use olive oil to coat our pans when cooking or sautéing, on our salads as salad dressing, and in recipes to make them full of flavor! The Grilled Chicken with Pesto Cauliflower recipe we are sharing with you today is definitely full of flavor. It is sweet and savory, all at the same time! The best part is you'll have dinner ready in less than 30 minutes (not including the marinating time for the chicken – don't forget that part!)!

Grilled Chicken with Pesto Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Bertolli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (4 Tbsp for pesto, 1 Tbsp for each foil packet)
• 1 head of purple cauliflower
• 6 kumquats (4 for juice squeezed into pesto, 1 for each foil packet)
• 8-12 leaves of basil (used for pesto)
• 5 cloves of garlic (1 used for pesto, 2 for each foil packet)
• Sea Salt
• Crushed Black Pepper

Directions:

Pesto:

Add ingredients below to a food processor and mix until basil leaves are finely ground and mixed.

• 4 Tbsp Bertolli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Juice of 4 freshly squeeze kumquats
• 8-12 basil leaves
• 1 fresh garlic clove or ½ tsp minced garlic
• Dash of sea salt

Cauliflower foil packets:

1. Wash and cut purple cauliflower into pieces (about 1.5 inches), split into two even servings for grilling in foil packet. Add to 18" x 18" piece of foil.
2. Cut 2 kumquats into small pieces (about ¼ inch), split evenly and add to each foil packet
3. Add 2 garlic cloves to each foil packet, drizzle 1 Tbsp of olive oil, add salt and pepper to your liking
4. Drizzle 1 Tbsp from pesto on each packet of cauliflower, reserve remainder for garnishing grilled cauliflower
5. Enclose all contents in foil packet and shake to mix ingredients
6. Grill on medium-high heat for 20-25 minutes (or until cauliflower is tender)

Grilled Chicken:

Marinade:

• 1 cup Bertolli balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Bertolli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ tsp salt (iodized salt works best for marinades)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 2 tsp garlic powder

Marinate chicken for 4-5 hours. Grill on each side for 7-8 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

He and She Tip: We prepare our chicken in advance during food prep and then just make the cauliflower as our side dish when we are ready to eat! Super simple!

Connect with Bertolli:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram

Grilled Orange Chicken

I know I've promised this recipe for a LONG time! I finally had Scott actually tell me the ingredients and amounts he uses. We've made this almost every weekend for the last few months. It's easy to make in advance and tastes great leftover. This is the chicken that we use to make our Chick-Fil-A copycat Protein Packed Breakfast Sandwich.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
• Organic orange juice (with orange juice as the only ingredient!)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• Montreal steak seasoning
• Organic orange peel (optional)

Directions:

1. Fill a deep container with orange juice, olive oil, and salt. Stir to combine.
2. Cut breasts into tenderloins (or buy tenderloins!). Place into the prepared container.
3. Sprinkle with Montreal steak seasoning and organic orange peel.
4. Let chicken marinate for at least three hours.
5. On an indoor grill, cook on high heat for about 10 minutes in the closed position or about 5-7 minutes per side. On a large outdoor grill, cook on medium-high for about 7 minutes per side or until chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit and no longer pink on the inside.

Salmon with Tomato Sauce and Capers

Hey, guys. Whitney has asked me to post a recipe for you and I gladly agreed "to feed you" this salmon with tomato sauce and capers, or green olives (whichever you fancy or have on hand - my recipes are very flexible), tonight for dinner. My name is Olena and I blog at ifoodreal.com. I share delicious clean eating recipes, with simple ingredients, that my kids will eat. I grew up in Ukraine and now live in beautiful rainy Vancouver, BC, so all my recipes have a European poor people flavour aka made with what you have on hand. No brown rice flour or arrowroot starch. As much as they may be awesome ingredients, ain't nobody got time for that with a house full of noisy kids, never ending laundry and meals to make. I'm living a dream, in fact. It is, what it is.

My husband loves fishing and living on the ocean it is a sin not to fish if you are a man (sorry not sorry). This past fall he caught a spring salmon with white flesh, apparently it is a real thing. And this is the salmon I used in a recipe, but any red flesh salmon would work except farmed salmon. Whatever you do please stay away from farmed salmon, just like from Vietnam fish. Buy cheaper North American pink salmon or trout if you have to, it will work.

In Ukraine, we always pan fried meat and fish coated in flour. Not that that method back then didn't involve a lot of oil (because no non-stick skillets) and a lot of white flour, but that is easily fixed. I honestly do not see whole wheat flour (preferably organic if you can) as a culprit to our nation's deteriorating health, rather processed foods, over consumption of animal products and sugar. Delicate salmon fillets coated in a light coat of whole wheat flour give fish a depth of flavour and help lock in its juices. Then everything gets coated in flavourful tomato sauce layered with pickled capers or green olives. Simmer and voila - salmon in tomato sauce with capers is ready for dinner in 30 minutes (if you are fast like me because you are a mom). Serve with quinoa and brown rice on a side. Oh, and I use ceramic coated non-stick skillet - they say it is less toxic tax Teflon coated one. Who knows?!

Hope you enjoyed this simple easy dinner recipe and you can find more on my clean eating recipes blog.

Salmon with Tomato Sauce and Capers

ngredients:

• 2 lbs salmon, cut into 1.5” long slices
• 2 tbsp avocado or coconut oil
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 oz (1/2 small can) tomato paste
• 1 tbsp coriander, ground
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• Jar of capers, drained or 3/4 cup green olives, pitted & sliced
• Parsley, finely chopped (for garnish)

Directions:

1. On a large plate, add flour, 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper to taste; mix with a fork.

2. Preheat large deep non-stick skillet on medium heat and swirl 1 tbsp of oil to coat. Dip each salmon slice into flour mixture making sure both sides are coated, add to the skillet and repeat until skillet is full. Cook for a few minutes or until brown, flip and cook for a few more minutes. Repeat this step with remaining half of salmon transferring cooked fish on a large plate. Discard any leftover flour mixture.

3. While fish is cooking, in a medium bowl mix to combine diced tomatoes, water, tomato paste, coriander, cumin, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper.

4. Now it is time to layer the fish. Arrange half of the salmon pieces in a single layer on the bottom of previously used skillet, top with half of capers/olives and topped with half of tomato mixture. Repeat layer, cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.

5. Serve hot garnished with parsley and quinoa/brown rice on a side.

Storage Instructions: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

---

Whitney here! I can't remember exactly how I found Olena's website but I loved it when I did! I was attracted to her because she has the same attitude as I do regarding online fitness, social media, etc. You must read this post she wrote on how she stopped being afraid to eat. Also, connect with her on social media!

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest