Grilled Brushetta Chicken - the best EVER!

This recipe is by far one of my all time favorites- of ANY kind of food! I've made this recipe now for probably 8+ years and I love it each and every time its made. Its LOW in points and a healthy, fresh recipe for summertime! I grow a basil plant JUST for this one recipe!! And I get my tomatoes from farmer's market! Copy this recipe and put it on your dinner calendar NOW! Its worth it!

Oh- and FYI - I've hit my "goal" and my STOP weight. I am now MAINTAINING. (and the hard work begins!)

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

 from Kraft Food & Family

 Ingredients

1/4 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil leaves (use fresh - always use fresh!!!)

 

Directions 

PLACE large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; preheat grill to medium heat.

Pour 2 Tbsp. of the dressing over chicken in resealable plastic bag; seal bag.

Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with the dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. to marinate. (or however long you like- I usually do several hours, but you can do only 10 minutes and it pretty much has the same taste!)

Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade.

GRILL chicken on uncovered side of grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and remaining 2 Tbsp. dressing.

TURN chicken over; place, cooked-side up, on foil on grill.

Top evenly with tomato mixture.

 Close lid. Grill an additional 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through (170ºF).

 

 

 

*NOTE - I have a hard time finding the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette dressing now days. This is the ONLY brand my grocery carries of sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. Based on the origin of this recipe, I'm guessing that maybe Kraft makes a version of this dressing as well, but I've never been able to find it.

 

Vacation & a New wardrobe

Well, vacation #1 has come and gone. I did not meet my Memorial Day goal. Ok- to be fair, I MIGHT have, but I was without a scale to weigh myself. I only gained 2 lbs on vacation...a huge win, I think! I tried to eat healthy most of the trip. 10 days of eating out of your normal routine is tough.

I shopped a lot while there and ended up with 6 new dresses! 2 are the long "maxi" dresses that I've never been comfortable wearing. Not sure why - they are SO comfy. I got 4 more cute sleeveless dresses and a ton of new shirts and shorts. I should be good to go for our upcoming mini-trip to Las Vegas for hubby's work conference.  (here is one of the new dresses- although you only see the top part!) My mom has tons of cute family pics on her camera, but she hasn't sent them to me yet- I'll post more later!

I did NOT find a new swimsuit. I just cannot find one that I like on me. I tried on 25+ swimsuits. Nothing worked for me. I have several that I already own that still fit me, but I'd still like a new one. I'm still searching. I tried ordering several from Lands End and nothing made me happy. I see tons of cute ones on the internet, but I am too unsure of what size to buy. Ugh. I still hate swimsuit shopping! BUT, for the first time in 3+ years, I didn't feel self-conscience on the beach...or in sleeveless shirts/dresses! Nice feeling.

I'd like to shake these 2 lbs. before leaving for Vegas. Or even 3. I know eating in Vegas will be worse than Destin. I will be in a hotel -not a townhouse with a full kitchen. I'll be confined to eating hotel restaurant food for b'fast and lunch and other yummy places for dinner. I will attempt to make healthy choices as much as I can. Any tips on something I can take with me in my suitcase for healthy b'fast? I am thinking Quaker Breakfast Cookies (180 calories) or some other kind of bfast bar? Do you have a favorite that is good AND filling? I do not think our hotel offers "free" breakfast and I hate waking up hungry and having to get dressed and all that jazz to go scrounge up something to eat!

I made crockpot tacos Sunday night- just some chicken breasts and a jar of salsa in the crockpot. I cooked on high for about 3 hours and it was done. Add a little of that mixture to a taco shell or soft shell, some shredded cheese, lettuce and whatever else and viola- yummy, easy dinner! Tacos are one my oldest daughter's fave foods and since her little sister is off on another trip with her grandparents, I made tacos just for us. I whipped up some beef mixture for her, though, and froze half of it for another time. Last night it was just the two of us and we splurged and got Chinese. Bleck. I just can't eat that stuff like I used to. Made my tummy hurt.

Nothing on the meal calendar until Thursday night. I get a few nights off of cooking. YEAH!