Grilled Chicken and Tapenade Sandwiches & Veggie Skewers

This was my second menu meal of the week. Once again, Cooking Light had my whole plan laid out for me in advance. One thing I love about San Diego is that we can grill all year-round, even though this is more of a summer meal.

Game Plan:
1. Prepare topping for sandwiches
2. While topping stands:
Prepare vegetable skewers
Grill chicken and vegetables
3. While chicken stands:
Add cheese and remaining ingredients to topping.
4. Once slightly cooled, cut chicken into thin slices and assemble into sandwiches.

Grilled Chicken and Tapenade Sandwiches
recipe from Cooking Light 2008, pictures from my kitchen

Robust olives, balsamic vinegar, and feta cheese convey Mediterranean flavors.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups diced seeded tomato (I didn't bother seeding)
2 tablespoons finely chopped pitted kalamata olives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used regular parsley)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
5 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese
4 (2-ounce) ciabatta sandwich rolls, halved

Preparation

Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Add 2 teaspoons oil; toss gently to combine. Let stand 15 minutes.

Prepare grill.

Brush chicken evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Remove from grill. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing thinly.

Add cheese and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to tomato mixture; stir gently to combine. Arrange sliced chicken evenly on bottom halves of rolls. Top each serving with one-fourth of tomato mixture, and cover with top halves of rolls. Serve immediately.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 369(30% from fat); FAT 12.3g (sat 3g,mono 7g,poly 1.6g); PROTEIN 33.2g; CHOLESTEROL 79mg; CALCIUM 63mg; SODIUM 815mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.1g

Jennifer Martinkus , Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Vegetable Skewers

Cut 2 zucchini, 1 red bell pepper (I used yellow squash instead because Mike hates bell peppers and they aren't my fave, either), and 1 red onion into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Thread vegetables alternately onto 4 skewers, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill 15 minutes or until crisp-tender and lightly charred. Brush evenly with 1 T balsamic vinegar before serving. (I forgot to do this part. :( )

The veggie skewers were delicious!!! Seriously, the best zucchini I've had in ages. The sandwiches were REALLY good too, but the ciabatta bread was a little dry. I'm not a fan of dry bread. It started cracking towards the end, but the flavor was great. I really liked this recipe! And obviously, Mike enjoyed his meal, too!