Summer Squash "Linguini" with Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Basil

I've been making delicious and light lunches every day this week and I find that my day is so much more satisfying that way. Today I made a delicious and healthy dish that I can see myself making many times in the future - and it is one that is so simple as to be easily modified to fit whatever you have in the house.

Fresh, tasty and green
Everything's better with cheese
Even in summer

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp coconut or olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp minced shallot
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
• 3 small green zucchini, julienned
• 3 small yellow zucchini, julienned
• 1/4 cup jullienned fresh basil
• 5 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

1. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and saute until the outside is golden and the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon into a bowl, cover to keep warm and set aside. Drain all but 1 Tbsp of oil from pan.
2. Add butter to pan. Add shallot and saute until it becomes soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
3. Add chicken broth; then add zucchini and saute for about 3-4 minutes or just until soft. Remove from heat.
4. Add chicken and basil, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Divide among four individual dinner plates and top with the crumbled goat cheese.
5. Serve immediately.

I didn't have any salt on hand, but I used chicken broth, which I assume is salty enough. I also cooked the zucchini a little bit longer than the recipe called for since my slices weren't as thin as I would have liked.

Recipe from Mariel's Kitchen.

What to do with those avocados that are getting too soft.

For lunch the other day, I pulled out the produce drawer to find unused produce from previously planned meals. Lunch was a thrown-together last-minute salad that I only post here because of the colors. And because of the dressing.

Leftovers for lunch
Only minutes to prepare
Green is healthy, right?

Ingredients

• Asparagus that didn't get eaten the night before
• Mushrooms that you didn't need for your pizza and put back in the fridge
• Lettuce that one can never seem to finish all of before it wilts
• 1 Avocado
• 1/2 a lime
• Water
• Pepper
• Goat Cheese

1. Lightly steam the asparagus
2. Blend the avocado, lime, and a couple of tablespoons of water in a blender.
3. Chill the asparagus briefly (a few minutes in the freezer will do it)
4. Put lettuce, mushrooms and asparagus in a bowl
5. Top with the avocado dressing, pepper and goat cheese.

This would be more typical of a spring or early summer meal, but since we have scarcely had a summer, I think it is right in season.