Blend Swag Put to Good Use + {Parm Chicken CousCous}

As you may know, my folks are in town for Mother's Day weekend.  My mom and I spent the entire day yesterday being pampered, and it was heavenly.  The massage and facial really were worth every minute and every penny.  Ahhhhh.  More about that on Monday!  I knew I wanted to make my dad some of my Honeydew Caprese Salad during their visit.  It was, afterall, inspired by his own bruschetta recipe.  Mine just has about 80% less oil and 100% less sugar, as I use the honeydew to sweeten as well as really ripe sweet grape tomatoes!  (GREAT substitutions, by the way). 

Introducing Parm Chicken CousCous:

First I prepared the Honeydew Caprese Salad, and refrigerated it to marinate while the chicken baked:

Full Honeydew Caprese Salad recipe can be found here.  Look at how beautiful these tomatoes looked.  They were soooooo sweet.  I seriously could have eaten the entire container in one sitting!

Then I prepared the chicken.  I found this new breadcrumbs/cheese combo pack at the grocery store - which intrigued me.  It seemed so easy that I had to buy it.  They have a bunch of different flavors/varieties in the shredded cheese section.

I followed the directions on the packaging - rinsed the skinless chicken breasts in water, then shook them around in the bag (one at a time) with the cheese & breadcrumbs.  Then I laid them on a foil covered baking sheet, and sprinkled the remaining cheese on the top of each one... and baked at 350 for 28 minutes.  They look so yummy, even uncooked!

And remember that Blend swag I mentioned previously?  Well, here's a picture of the actual bag/contents (thanks to Lauren who was thinking ahead before diving in to the contents to actually take a picture!)  It was jam-packed and weighed like 15 pounds!

One of the items in the bag was Bob's Red Mill - pearl couscous.  I decided this would be a perfect compliment/ "bed" to my chicken parmesan.

I cooked the CousCous as directed, and then topped it with Giada's Pepper & Eggplant spread and 1 cup of Bertolli Organic tomato sauce.

I made a quick reduction sauce to go on the chicken, made with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar, and 1 cup tomato sauce. I just stirred it as it thickened for about 8 minutes over low heat.

And the final product turned out just beautifully.  I think I really did impress my dad!  And he LOVED the Honeydew Caprese Salad.  The chicken was super tender, the couscous just the perfect amount of "grain", and the caprese salad pure perfection.  Yay me!! Ha!

Ingredients:

For the Honeydew Caprese Salad:

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 10 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 fresh basil leaves, minced (I didn't have any fresh basil this time, so I subbed in 1 Tbsp of minced prepared basil that comes in a tube).
• 16 oz block of mozzarella cheese, cut up into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup diced honeydew melon, ripe

For the Chicken Parmesean and CousCous:

• 4 - 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 pkg of Kraft's new Fresh Take Cheese & Breadcrumb Mix, Italian Parmesan flavor
• I jar of tomato sauce (I used Bertolli's Organic)
• 1 small jar (6.35oz) of Giada's Tomato & Eggplant Spread
• 1 16oz bag of Bob's Red Mill Pearl CousCous

Directions:

1. Prepare Honeydew Caprese Salad.  Directions here.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Prepare Chicken according to Kraft's Fresh Take packaging - which is basically: rinse chicken breasts in water. Coat breasts with breadcrumb/cheese mixture.  Put on a baking sheet.  Bake for 28 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Cook Pearl Couscous according to the packaging - which is basically to boil a specific amount of water, then add in couscous.  Let boil/simmer for 20 minutes or until the couscous has absorbed all the water.
5. Once the couscous has absorbed the water, mix in all of Giada's Tomato and Eggplant spread + 1 cup of tomato sauce.
6. Plate by scooping out a "bed" of couscous, flatten with a serving spoon.  Top with one chicken breast.  Serve with a side of Honeydew Caprese Salad.

Perfecto!

Questions:

• What is your favorite Italian meal? Do you think it's "healthy"?
• What are your plans for Mother's Day?