Simple Crispy Basil Caramelized Garden Vegetable + Fontina French Bread Pizza Recipe By Half Baked Harvest

Oh My Goodness, Yum...

Simple Crispy Basil Caramelized Garden Vegetable + Fontina French Bread Pizza by Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients

Crispy Basil
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 12 fresh basil leaves
• salt + pepper
Pizzas
• 1 loaf of whole grain french bread, cut in half
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 ear corn, kernels removed
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small pepper
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 8 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
• balsamic glaze , for drizzling (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Make sure the basil leaves are really dry so they crisp instead of wilt in the oven. Arrange the basil leaves on a baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss the leaves with your hands to make sure they’re well-covered. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 5-10 minutes or until leaves turn dark green and become crispy (WATCH CLOSELY). Remove from the oven and turn the oven onto broil.
3. While the basil leaves are cooking heat a a skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoon of olive to pan. Add the corn, red pepper and honey. Saute five minutes and then add the zucchini. Saute until the veggies are soft and begin to caramelize on the edges, about 5 minutes longer. Once the veggies are soft and caramelized turn off the heat and stir in the 1/4 cup fresh basil, lemon juice and the tomatoes. Set aside.
4. Place the french bread on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toast under a broiler until edges are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes (watch closely). Remove from the oven and place a few of the crispy basil leaves on each of the cut sides of the french bread. Sprinkle on equal amounts of the fontina cheese and then top each half with equal amounts of the caramelized garden vegetables. Finish with a sprinkle more of fontina cheese if desired.
5. Broil on high in the middle of the oven for 5-6 minutes, watching closely and rotating the pan once or twice during broiling. Please, please watch them closely! Everyone's broilers are different so check on the pizzas constantly!
6. Remove and top with the remaining crispy basil leaves and if desired drizzle with balsamic glaze (highly recommended). EAT!

Bruschetta Appetizer Tart

Best not think I'll be leaving out the Independence Day appetizers! Here's a Bruschetta Appetizer Tart from Pillsbury sure to keep everyone's hunger at bay until the main course.  The refrigerated pie crust makes this recipe a lot easier to prepare.  Total Time: 25 minutes  Yield: 16 appetizers

INGREDIENTS:

1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

1 cup chopped plum (Roma) tomatoes (3 medium)

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz)

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 425°F. Remove pie crust from pouch; unroll on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except cheese.
• Remove partially baked crust from oven. Spread tomato mixture over crust; sprinkle with cheese.
• Return to oven; bake 7 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. Cut into wedges. Serve warm.

Italian Chicken Burgers

Ingredients:

1 heaping cup panko bread crumbs

1 TB dried Italian seasoning

2 TB finely grated hard Italian cheese, like Parmesan

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp finely ground pepper

1 1/3 lb ground chicken

1 egg

1 TB fresh, finely chopped basil or oregano (optional)

1/2 tsp coarse salt 

1 TB olive oil

4 burger buns, preferably Kaiser or a soft Ciabatta

4 large slices tomato

4 oz low-moisture mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly

1/2 cup arugula

8-12 large basil leaves

Mayonnaise 

Directions:

First, make your seasoned breading. Mix the panko, dried seasoning, grated cheese, salt, and pepper. Set aside on a large plate.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix the chicken, egg, salt, and oregano, if using. Add about 1/4 cup of the bread crumb mixture, mixing gently, and careful not to overwork. Patties should hold together at this point; if you need a little more panko for it to hold it together, add about 1 TB at a time, using no more than an additional 2 TB. Shape it into 4 patties roughly 4" in diameter, and dredge it in the panko mixture, pressing the panko into the chicken patties. You may have some panko left over.

In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the patties. Cook until medium golden brown on the bottom, and chicken appears cooked halfway up, about 4-5 minutes. Flip, and continue cooking until the other side is the same color, another 3 minutes or so more. (Now's a good time to put the buns in the toaster.) When bottoms of chicken patties are light golden brown, with about 1 minute to go, add a thin layer of cheese on the top, and let cheese melt.

To serve, spread a little mayo on each side of your kaiser bun. Lay a few pieces of arugula, basil, and tomato slice on the bottom bun. Top with the patty and serve. 

Chicken in Basil Cream

Here’s a recipe I had stored in my personal collection of recipes—Chicken in a Creamy Basil Sauce.  My mom used to make a dish similar to this, but without the pimientos.  I really enjoy preparing dinners that are simple and quick, but then again, who doesn’t!  This is one of those meals I don’t get stressed out about cooking.  My family requests this one often, but since I love trying new things, I don’t make it as often as they request!  It’s a very versatile recipe.  This can be served with rice, egg noodles and other kinds of pasta, or even over some nice, flaky biscuits. If you go the biscuit route, I would recommend a larger quantity of sauce, so they can soak up all of that wonderful flavor!  My daughter likes this sauce as an accompaniment to her fresh veggies, like broccoli and baby carrots. If your sauce comes out too thin, add a little flour ‘til you get your desired consistency.  

I personally love the recipe as is, but if you don’t have a certain ingredient or don’t like something in it, try some of these substitutions.  If you don’t have chicken, pork cutlets work just as well.  Switching out regular heavy cream for light heavy cream doesn’t make much of a difference in taste.   Out of chicken broth, but just happen to have white wine?  Some recommend this recipe tastes so much more delicious with using the white wine in place of the chicken broth.  If you’re not too big on the idea of pimientos, try some finely chopped red bell pepper.

Enjoy!

Photo: Real Mom Kitchen

¼ cup milk

1 cup dry bread crumbs

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz. each)

3 Tablespoons butter

½ cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 jar (4 oz.) sliced pimientos, drained

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup minced fresh basil

⅛ Teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Place milk and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls.  Dip chicken in milk, then coat with crumbs.  In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook chicken in butter on both sides until juices run clear, about 10 minutes.   Remove and keep warm. 

Add broth to the skillet.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; stir to loosen browned bits.  Stir in the cream and pimientos; boil and stir for 1 minute.  Reduce heat.  Add the Parmesan cheese, basil, and pepper; cook and stir until heated through.  Pour over chicken. 

Makes 4 servings