Chicken Mozzarella

Recently, I've been on a Pinterest kick. I spend time every day finding pretty things and delicious things to repin, leading to lots of fashion and food inspiration.  When I came across this picture, I knew I had to try it. Doesn't it look yummy?

For busy people, being able to toss things together and have it be both healthy and delicious can be a victory on a crazy day. (And before you think to yourself, all that cheese? Well, just count it as protein OK? And maybe don't use as much as I did... :)

What I liked about this recipe is that I just had to do some chopping and seasoning and everything went together in one big dish straight into the oven. I added some herbs because I felt that just salt & pepper wasn't enough.

Note: The original recipe didn't include specific amounts of some of the ingredients, so this dish was pretty much an experiment. Thinking back I would have used more tomatoes (the chicken breasts were large and it could have used more tomatoes for balance in taste) and salt - more generous amounts of salt. I did adjust the recipe to my taste - but I left salt to your discretion.

Enjoy with good wine & better company :)

INGREDIENTS

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

5-6 plum tomatoes, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 small onion, chopped

Small jar of artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and quartered

3-4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

Good mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded

1 1/2 cups fresh basil, chiffonade-d (it's not actually a verb)

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

1 tsp. sugar

Dried oregano

Dried basil

Garlic powder

1. Combine tomatoes, garlic, onions, artichokes, olive oil, sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper in a bowl.  Add 3-4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, more/less depending on thickness of chicken breasts, and stir (the chicken will leave liquid behind, flour will help soak it up). Sprinkle oregano, basil and garlic powder to taste.

2. Generously salt & pepper both sides of the chicken breasts, let rest for 2 minutes. Drizzle olive oil on the chicken, flipping them to cover both sides. Sprinkle with oregano, basil and garlic powder.

3. Place the veg mixture and chicken breasts in an oven-safe dish. Place in 360 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until it's almost done.

4. Sprinkle mozzarella on top of chicken and set oven to broil for a couple of minutes until cheese has melted completely (at most with a slight golden brown touch). Don't let the cheese get too broiled or it becomes too tough - maybe less broiled then the picture below? :)

5. Remove dish from oven and sprinkle with basil leaves.

6. Serve with penne, angel hair, spaghetti, or whichever kind of pasta you prefer.