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We call this cooking the garbage at my house. Thursday night’s are typically reserved for leftovers, or take-out. On occasion we find we don’t have enough of one thing to go around, and no one is in the mood for take-out. So we improvise!
I had some great veggies leftover from the week like asparagus, English peas, San Marzano tomatoes, and mushrooms. We ended up having so much due to overbuying for other meals that I didn’t have to use the broccoli pictured below.
I marinated some chicken in Italian dressing for a couple of hours (overnight is better or it can done in the morning before work)with some garlic and onion powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and Italian herb seasoning. Hello, this is one of the best cheats out there especially when prepping lunch pasta or sprucing up some veggies.
You could also substitute the dried herbs with fresh herbs like oregano, basil, and parsley. About a small handful would do.
I cooked these on the grill, but they can be cooked in the oven as well. You can still achieve grill marks by searing on a cast iron grill pan before putting them in the oven. Preheat the grill for about ten minutes or preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Oven method: Cook the chicken for about thirty minutes in the oven or until done (internal temperature of 165-degrees).
If cooking on the grill, then cook on indirect heat for about an hour – flipping every 15 minutes. This low and slow cooking method takes a little longer, but the tender results are worth it. Since I only marinated for a couple of hours, I basted the chicken with the marinade on both sides about half way through the cooking time. Cook until the internal temperature is 165 degrees, then cover with foil and let rest for ten minutes prior to serving.
Tip: On Sunday’s I typically grill chicken for my weekly meal prep. It’s super-easy since you basically just check on it every 15 minutes or so to flip until done.
After putting the chicken on the grill, I put together some veggie packets with salt, pepper, butter, and olive oil in foil. Thirty minutes prior to the chicken being done I added these out to the grill to cook.
Oven method: If you are cooking this in the oven then you will add them in at the same time as the chicken on the same baking sheet of it’s own.
The last thirty minutes of cooking you should cook your ziti according to the package directions.
For the Alfredo sauce- melt one stick of butter in a pan, then remove from heat to add one cup each of heavy whipping cream and parmesan cheese. If using fresh grated cheese then you will have to whisk on low heat until it is melted and incorporated.
Slice up your chicken to plate up with veggies and Alfredo pasta!
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts Ziti, cooked according to package instructions Marinade: 1 bottle of Italian dressing 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Herb Seasoning 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Veggie Packet: 1 bunch of asparagus 1 pint of San Marzano or grape tomatoes 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen) 1/2 pint sliced mushrooms 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 Tablespoon butter Salt and pepper to taste Alfredo Sauce: 1 stick unsalted butter 1 cup heavy whipping cream 8 ounces of grated parmesan cheese or 1 cup fresh grated parmesanGrilled Chicken Veggie Alfredo Ziti Bowl
Ingredients
Directions
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I’m the writer, photographer, recipe developer, and one of the many taste tester’s at Monday is Meatloaf. I live in a sleepy Florida town on the out-skirts of the Tampa Bay metro area. Growing up I got the opportunity to see a lot of great family cooks in action, but I didn’t delve into the culinary world until later. My blog focuses on simple cooking techniques that maximize flavor across a variety of cooking disciplines that are totally do-able for the home cook.
