Grilled Chicken and Pesto Zoodles

I love carbs. I have proclaimed my love for all things wheat on this blog and in articles I have published on the Mediterranean diet. 

Our cheap little spiralizer

I have tried my hand at cauliflower crust pizza and other wheat like substitutes and was left less than impressed but zucchini noodles, or zoodles, is one trend I wholeheartedly love. Our favorite way to serve zoodles is cold or room temperature (cooking them gives them a soggy texture I do not enjoy) perfect for the warmer weather headed our way.

You don't have to go out and spend a ton of money on a spiralizer for this dish, we have an inexpensive little gadget that does the trick but if you wanted to spiralize harder veggies like beets or butternut squash you may want to invest in something a bit fancier.

I made enough pesto for 3 recipes of this dish, so portion out the remaining pesto into small containers and freeze the leftovers for another day. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using. 

Grilled Chicken and Pesto Zoodles

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts
1 tbs Italian Seasoning (salt free)
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 medium Zucchini, spirialized into noodles
1 C Grape Tomatoes

Pesto
3 C Basil leaves, packed
3/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 oz Parmesan Cheese, grated or crumbled
4 cloves Garlic

In a quart size freezer bag combine 1/4 C olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Make pesto by combining basil, cheese, garlic cloves and 3/4 c extra virgin olive oil in food processor until it forms a paste and is free of lumps.

Grill chicken over medium heat for about 12 minutes, turning once. While chicken is cooking grill tomatoes for 5 minutes. 

In a large bowl combine cold zucchini noodles with sliced grilled chicken breast, tomatoes and about a third of the pesto.

I would imagine that this would make great leftovers but we ate it all.

Grilled Vegetable Hogies

I love sandwiches and could easily eat one everyday. This is one of my favorite meals from our Vegan days. It's super quick and easy, you can grill you veggies a couple of days in advance. It's versatile because you can use almost anything you like, and it's a complete source of protein when you combine, hummus, veggies and bread!

Ingredients:

Hummus

1 roll per person

Any or all of the following vegetables to grill;

Onion, Bell Pepper, Portobello Mushroom, Zucchini, Asparagus, Yellow Squash, Eggplant.

Any or all veggies to top sandwich;

Avocado, Tomato, Sprouts, Spinach, Arugala, Lettuce.

Oil

Balsamic Vinegar 

Salt & Pepper

Preheat Grill to Low. Slice Vegetables into large pieces so they don't fall through grates. (Bell peppers get cut in half and seeds removed. Small Zucchinis cut in half lengthwise, large squash or eggplant get sliced into 1/4" thick slices ect). Place veggies on the grill for about 4 minutes then turn. Keep a very close eye on things, four minutes on my grill maybe  two minutes on yours. My parents grill only seems to have one setting, incinerate! You just quickly pass the veggies over their grill and it's done! You just want the veggies to be soft and have some nice grill marks. 

Here is a sampling of what we used this evening.

Once everything is nicely grilled slice everything into thin strips. Spread hummus onto both sides of bread and top with desired vegetables. Salt, pepper and a drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar if desired.

Grilled Shrimp with Grilled Pineapple Relish, Fresh Tortillas and Black Beans

It's Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of Summer, so of course its time to grill. As the temperature climbs I'm always looking for something lighter. We had served this Grilled Pineapple Relish with pulled pork to some friends the week before and at the time I thought..this would be great on fish tacos! I love the fresh flavors of lime, pineapple and cilantro in the relish and fresh basil in the shrimp marinade. If you need a break from the usual backyard bar-b-que fair this recipe is for you.

Grilled Shrimp with Grilled Pineapple Relish with Fresh Tortillas and Black Beans
Serves 4
First we prepare the Grilled Pineapple Relish (adapted from food network)
1 fresh pineapple, skinned, cored and cut into 1-inch slices
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
1 lime, juiced
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1/2 red onion, diced

If you like pineapple but hate to cut it up, you need a pineapple tool. I'm not into uni-taskers in the kitchen, but this one makes cutting up pineapple a snap, and it leaves you with something pretty to serve your relish in!




Preheat a grill pan or grill over high heat. Toss pineapple gently in oil and grill each side of the pineapple slices until dark grill marks appear, 3 to 5 minutes a side.




Roughly chop the pineapple and add it to a bowl with the cilantro, ginger, lime juice, jalapeno and onions.

For the Grilled Shrimp (adapted from allrecipes.com)

3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
skewers

In a food processor, add the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, red wine vinegar,basil and cayenne pepper. Mix marinade and shrimp in a glass bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice. Meanwhile if using wood skewers soak skewers in water. Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade. Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.

Fill Tortillas with Grilled Shrimp topped with Pineapple Relish.


We like to use the uncooked flour tortillas by Tortilla Land because they don't have many ingredients or the sprouted grain tortillas by Food For Life. We cook those while we grill the pineapple. We served all this with Amy's Refried Black Beans.