My garden is doing well this summer considering the deer come visit it at night. They hop the 3-foot fence that keeps out the rabbits and eat all the leaves off the peppers, beets, eggplant, okra, Swiss chard, carrots and basil. While they are eating many of the leaves off the tomatoes, the plants are still flowering and tomatoes are forming. But with all that is gone, what is left untouched to do well? It’s the vining plants! Apparently, the deer don’t like my assortment of gourds, pumpkins, cucumbers, butternut squash and zucchini. Most of it is not ready yet, but I am picking zucchini often and we’re enjoying them in a variety of recipes.
When a garden explodes with a particular produce item, it’s natural to frantically scramble for recipes to use up that item. I’ve done that in the past. Now that I’ve been growing zucchini for quite a number of years, I’ve amassed a great collection of tried & true recipes for the crop and can easily handle the 2 or 3 zucchini that are currently ripening at a time. For a side dish, Lime Couscous with Summer Veggies is perfect. For a main dish, how about some chicken covered in hummus on a bed of zucchini & summer squash?!
Hummus-Crusted Chicken
Hummus-Crusted Chicken (adapted from gimmesomeoven.com)
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 yellow squash, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup hummus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450º. Pound the chicken breasts to 3/8 inch thickness then season them with generous pinches of salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, squash and onion with olive oil until they are evenly coated, then season the veggies with salt and pepper.
Summer squash & zucchini!
Place all of the vegetables on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish in an even layer. Lay the four chicken breasts evenly on top. Thinly slice one of the lemons and place the slices in between the chicken breasts on the vegetables.
Layer the chicken over the seasoned veggies.
Cover each chicken breast entirely with the hummus. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken and the vegetables.
Some fresh lemon juice is squeezed over the coated chicken & veggies.
Sprinkle the paprika over the dish.
A touch of paprika completes the dish.
Bake the chicken and veggies for about 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve immediately.
My kind of summer dish!
It wouldn’t be summer without zucchini & summer squash! ~Linda
Hummus-Crusted Chicken (adapted from gimmesomeoven.com)
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 yellow squash, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup hummus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450º. Pound the chicken breasts to 3/8 inch thickness then season them with generous pinches of salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, squash and onion with olive oil until they are evenly coated, then season the veggies with salt and pepper.
Place all of the vegetables on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish in an even layer. Lay the four chicken breasts evenly on top. Thinly slice one of the lemons and place the slices in between the chicken breasts on the vegetables. Cover each chicken breast entirely with the hummus. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken and the vegetables. Sprinkle the paprika over the dish.
Bake the chicken and veggies for about 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve immediately.