Summertime "Spaghetti" with Grilled Chicken & Tomatoes

Well, even though the temperature outside has been in the 50's and 60's for the past week or so, we are now under a blizzard watch for the next few days.  Awesome.  Have I ever mentioned that I hate snow?  Especially in APRIL.  Yeah, well, I do.  So I decided to pretend this is not actually going to happen and make a summertime meal for dinner tonight!  In my mind at least, it is a lovely spring-summer day.  I saw this recipe on Pinterest a few days ago and it sounded good- I just had to tweak it to make it Paleo!  Here is what I did:

Summertime "Spaghetti" with Grilled Chicken & Tomatoes
(serves about 3)

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 T olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2 t fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 t fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 t kosher/sea salt
• 1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 spaghetti squash (I used the leftover 1/2 from an earlier meal- check out this post for instructions)
• 1 T olive oil (additional)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 c chicken broth
• 1 T fresh basil, chopped
• salt & pepper (additional)
• 1 c yellow mini tomatoes
• 1 c red grape tomatoes
• 1-2 c baby spinach
• OPTIONAL: fresh parsley & parmesan cheese as toppings
  

Preparation
In a bowl or Ziploc bag, combine 2 T olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Mix it around and add the chicken breasts.  Allow to marinade for at least 20 minutes, or for a few hours for more flavor.  To cook the chicken, heat your grill to medium/medium-high and cook for about 6-7 minutes on each side.  Alternatively, you could bake at 350 or saute the chicken in olive oil on the stove.  But I think the grilled flavor is the BEST.  Once it is cooked, slice the chicken into thin slices.  Here it is right off the grill.  So. Delicious.

For the rest of the meal, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Add chicken stock and simmer for a few minutes, then add the chopped basil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the tomatoes, whole, and the spinach and cook until they begin to soften.  Add the spaghetti squash and stir until incorporated.  Add the sliced chicken and toss it all together.  When it is ready, the tomatoes should be soft so that if you poke one, it easily bursts (some may already have burst).  To serve, scoop it all onto the plate, and top with parsley and parmesan cheese, if desired.  Enjoy!

Oh and head's up- this chicken marinade on it's own is seriously delicious.  I let it marinade about 1-2 hours, and the chicken was AMAZING.  Lemony-herbs and goodness.  I highly recommend it for any grilled chicken meal.  All in all, this was a great meal and almost made me feel like it really was summer!