Creamy, cheesy and decadent, this restaurant style creamy Tuscan chicken screams holidays more than anything I have made recently and I am so glad I could bring this to you right on time!

If you are at the last leg of finalizing your holiday menu, I would strongly urge you to keep a spot for my classic restaurant style creamy Tuscan chicken in your list!

This creamy Tuscan chicken is a cheesy chicken recipe with a burst of freshness from spinach and fresh basil that is just perfect to serve over your favorite pasta and an ideal holiday meal for everyone!

This is also a good option for a make-ahead dish as this freezes very well! You just need to thaw and reheat to make the sauce melty and glossy again!

What is creamy Tuscan chicken?

Interestingly enough this creamy Tuscan chicken is not a traditional Tuscan recipe from Italy! Then why is it called Tuscan chicken? Fair question!

Upon reading more about this quirky recipe, I finally deduced that this creamy Tuscan chicken is a modern Italian-American dish, most likely developed in the United States!

The name “Tuscan” chicken comes from the ingredients commonly associated with Tuscan-style cooking e.g. olive oil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, leafy greens like fresh spinach & basil and Parmesan.

However, authentic Tuscan cuisine is usually lighter and not cream-based. The creamy version is more of an Italian-American or modern comfort-food creation.

But calling it “Tuscan” chicken instantly evokes certain emotions within the food lovers and we all know how crucial the role of emotion is when it comes to food!

The warmth, countryside charm and Italian comfort, the qualities that foodies already loved, get instantly packed into that name inviting more and more food enthusiasts to try it and fall for it!

The post Creamy Tuscan Chicken Restaurant Style | Italian-American Style Tuscan Chicken first appeared on Flavor Quotient.

This sun-dried tomato roast makes a stunning centerpiece for any holiday table. Packed with umami and filled with a hearty blend of mushrooms and potatoes, it delivers deep flavor and satisfying texture in every slice. Completely vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free with an easy nut-free option.

This is my version of a vegan holiday roast. We make this “meat” mixture with some white beans and almond flour, and process it until smooth. I also add some sun dried tomatoes for that rich, umami flavor. 

The mixture becomes like a pâté in the food processor, then we spread that onto parchment paper.

Next, make the stuffing with cooked mushrooms, potatoes, and herbs. Place that on top of the bean mixture, roll it up using the parchment, and bake it. 

It turns into this delicious, amazing-smelling roast that’s full of herbs and deep umami flavor from the sun dried tomatoes. It’s just perfect!

It’s completely gluten-free, but if you prefer, you can use all-purpose flour instead of tapioca starch. It’s also soy-free, since many of you asked for a soy-free option after I made that very popular tofu holiday roast a few years ago. 

You can easily adjust the flavors to your taste! Use fewer sun-dried tomatoes or different herbs, if you like. I usually serve it with a side salad, my simple vegan gravy, and some roasted vegetables for a perfect holiday or dinner plate.

Why You’ll Love Sun Dried Tomato Roast

• umami-packed vegan holiday roast
• savory mushroom-potato stuffing
• make-ahead friendly vegan holiday entree
• naturally gluten-free and soy-free with nut-free option

Continue reading: Sun Dried Tomato Holiday Roast with Mushroom-Potato Stuffing

The post Sun Dried Tomato Holiday Roast with Mushroom-Potato Stuffing appeared first on Vegan Richa.

A fully loaded, flavor packed, protein rich summer spinach salad with an umami-packed crisp chickpea hemp seed olive crumble, nutrient dense greens, and creamy, vibrant tahini lemon dressing. A perfect hot weather dinner. (23g protein and 15g fiber per serving, (gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, high protein)

This is a fantastically hearty summer spinach salad. It has so many textures and flavors, and it has 80 grams of protein for the entire salad. That’s 20 grams of protein per serving. For a salad!

There is protein from the chickpeas, from the hemp seeds, and from the nutritional yeast in the chickpea crumble. There’s also protein from the tahini in the dressing, the non-dairy yogurt (depending on the brand), as well as a little protein from the greens that you use in the salad. You can amp up the protein even more by sprinkling it with some hemp seeds before serving or adding some of my tofu bacon bits, or other high protein toppings.

The salad has this creamy texture from the dressing, the crunch from the fresh veggies, and crispiness from the chickpea crumbles, which we bake until they’re crispy-crunchy. The umami comes from the olives and the sun-dried tomato, and the refreshing, fresh flavor comes from lemon zest, the cucumbers, and any other crunchy veggies and greens. 

It’s just a fabulous combination of flavors and textures. The combination of tahini and yogurt helps mellow tahini’s strong flavor and makes for a rich, creamy dressing.

Why You’ll Love this Summer Spinach Salad

• incredible combination of flavors and textures! Crunchy veggies, creamy dressing, and savory, crisp chickpea-olive crumble.
• easy to make in about 30 minutes
• packed with veggies and protein
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Continue reading: Summer Spinach Salad with Chickpea Olive Crumble

The post Summer Spinach Salad with Chickpea Olive Crumble appeared first on Vegan Richa.

No party is complete without food and drink. Lots of people choose to meet up by the beach for a day of fun in the sun but what sorts of food should people be eating? Read More ...

The post Beach Party Food Ideas: Snacks By The Sea first appeared on Give Me Some Spice!.

 Thakali Saadham / Tomato Rice is a simple and delicious recipe from South India . It makes for a Quick fix lunch or dinner option and also apt to pack for lunch boxes . 

It is not a traditional recipe, hence each household may have different recipes to dish out this yummy Thakali saadham .

The main ingredient for this recipe are juicy and slightly tangy tomatoes for the extra punch. I use just basic spices and not much whole masalas/ garam masala . I like the rice to soak in the taste and flavor of tomatoes and chillies . 

If you like you may add some fried cashews or boiled peas while preparing the tomato rice . I add them depending on my family's request . 

My hubby loves to have his tomato rice with either Pattani (Peas) Masala or Potato Curry and some chilled raita/pachadi . Papads or fryums are an excellent addition as well . 

If packing for lunch , make sure you cool the rice completely and then pack it . If you pack it very hot ,there is a chance the rice may go bad especially in summer.  

I often make thakali saadham for dinner as it is a quick fix and I wont see fussy faces at home . As always, I realised that this delicious tomato rice wasn't on my blog and as a matter of coincidence our gourmet food group theme for this month was "cook what you like " .. Viola !! I got an opportunity to publish this recipe.  My partner Rafeeda has dished out a baked Pasta recipe and if you are a pasta lover, you must try it for sure .

Ingredients 

Method 

• Wash the rice well and soak it for 10mins and then drain the water through a colander. 
• Chop the tomatoes into medium sized chunks and finely chop the green chillies .
• Heat the oil in a pressure cooker or pressure pan and crackle the mustard seeds followed by channa dal and udad dal until they turn crisp and golden brown . Saute onions if using until pick and translucent. 
• Fry the green chillies,  curry leaves . Keep the flame on low and add the chopped tomatoes and  spice powders (haldi, red chilli powder, jeera powder and corriander powder ).
• Saute the tomatoes well and sprinkle some water ..cook covered until the tomatoes turn mushy and soft . Continue cooking until the oil begins to separate.Add salt at this  stage along with some chopped corriander. 
• Add water and bring to a boil . If using basmati rice use 1.5 cups water for 1 cup rice and if using sona masuri rice use 2 cups water for 1 cup rice.
• Once the water begins to boil,add the drained rice,  Pinch of sugar and adjust salt if needed .
• Close the pressure cooker and cook on medium flame for 2 whistles.  Let the pressure release naturally. 
• Fluff it with a fork and add some ghee if not vegan and serve hot with raita ,papads and some gravy or curry . 

If there’s one thing we gardeners in the Pacific Northwest know about, it’s how to grow tomatoes in the most difficult conditions. It’s bad enough that our summers are normally very cool but now the coming weeks are filled with hot days and warm nights, the perfect breeding ground for late blight disease. Phytophthora infestans, the fungus that causes this […]

The post Late Blight Disease on Home Garden Tomatoes, Potatoes appeared first on Backyard Gardener.

 Paneer Tomato grilled sandwiches are a perfect choice for packing in kids' lunch box or even for adults when you want to carry something filling at the same time  not messy to eat on the desk .

You can also serve this as an after school snack or even makes for a perfect light dinner when paired with some warm Italian style Tomato soup . (Recipe source - Priya Iyer's blog)

Paneer takes care of the protein quotient for the day and the tomatoes keep the sandwiches moist and don't let it get too dry and stuffy.  Adding some mozzarella chees gives a nice gooey and melt in mouth texture. 

I love to work with different fillings that go into the sandwich and this is yet another successful attempt as my family loved the flavor and the crisp grilled bread. 

For the spice, I have used only red chilli powder and 1 small green chilli chopped.  Some boiled corn was added for the crunch and tomatoes used were firm and deseeded to prevent the sandwiches from getting soggy .

Some sandwich varieties from my blog that you must definitely try 

Classic Veg Cheese Grill Sandwich 

Peanut Butter Cheese Sandwich 

Paneer Cheese Corn Grill Sandwich 

Chutney Cheese Sandwich 

Mumbai Special Toast Sandwich 

Ingredients 

Method 

• Firstly grate the paneer, crush 3 tbsp of corn kernels with green chilli in a blender and de seed the tomatoes and dice into small cubes. 
• In a mixing bowl mix the Tomatoes, crushed corn , paneer, boiled corn ,chilli powder ,salt, chopped corriander and mix it all well . Let it rest for 5 to 10mins . Our filling is ready .
• Donot let the filling sit for extra time because the tomatoes will release water when mixed with salt and the filling will become soggy .we don't want that 
• Heat the grilling pan,  apply butter on one side of the bread , place some filling on it ,spread grated mozzarella cheese as per your wish ..close using the other slice of bread . 
• Apply some butter to the grilling pan and grill the sandwich on both sides until crisp and golden brown .
• Cut the sandwich into wedges and enjoy .
• If packing for lunch, then place foil paper in the inside of the lunch box ,place the cut sandwiches once they have cooled down .this will prevent the sandwiches from getting soggy .

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