Skinny Chicken Parm Burgers with Grilled Vegetables

Start by grilling your vegetables. In a large bowl, toss your sliced zucchini, squash, and eggplant with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place your vegetables on a grill or grill pan over medium heat. Cook the zucchini and summer squash for about 4 minutes on each side or until tender. The eggplant rounds will need a little extra love. Grill them for about 8 minutes on each side. Place the grilled vegetables on a plate and set aside until ready to use.

Moving on to the fire roasted tomato sauce. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the onions and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions soften and the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the diced fire roasted tomatoes, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. Pour the sauce into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return the sauce to the saucepan and keep warm until ready to use.

Now it’s time to make your burgers. Finely mince your chicken breasts using a food processor (or a meat grinder if you happen to have one lying around). If you’re using a food processor, cut the breasts into 1-inch cubes and pulse it a few times. If you don’t have a food processor, use a sharp knife to mince the chicken. It’s pretty easy, plus you’ll get a little arm workout in.

In a large bowl, combine minced chicken, diced red bell pepper, minced garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt, oregano and fresh ground pepper. I suggest doing this with your hands. (Kinda gross, but kinda fun.)

Form the chicken mixture into four evenly sized patties, approximately 1-inch in thickness. To cook your burgers, heat 1½ tablespoons olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. When hot, add the burgers and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Remove your burgers from the pan and place them in a baking dish. Top each burger with fire roasted tomato sauce and 1 ounce of part-skim mozzarella. Place the baking dish under the broiler for about 3 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling. If you want toasted buns, now would be the time to toast those bad boys.

Carefully place each chicken parm burger on a bun and top with grilled vegetables.