Balsamic Tomato Baked Chicken (with Mozzarella)
Description
This would be wonderful over pasta but it was still gorgeous outside when I first made this so I must also recommend that you try it over a big pile of hearty greens. I found this recipe on Little Spice Jar and it’s great to have in your back pocket when you have a bunch of extra tomatoes – enjoy!
Ingredients
Marinade
1 T. EACH olive oil AND white wine vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced AND 1 t. salt
1/2 t. EACH freshly ground pepper AND red pepper flakes
1/4 t. EACH rosemary, basil, oregano AND thyme
4 – skinless, boneless chicken breasts
For the Pan Sauce
3 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
2 T. EACH balsamic vinegar AND melted butter
1 T. honey AND 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 t. salt AND 1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
2 T. chopped fresh basil
1/2 t. EACH onion powder AND thyme
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella – I had fresh, so I sliced it up
Instructions
Put all of the marinade ingredients into a large Ziploc bag, close it tightly, shake it to mix, then add in the chicken breasts, seal the bag, massage the chicken and leave this to marinate for 10 to 15 minutes while you prep the remaining ingredients. I actually did this the morning of, and let it sit in the fridge until dinner time.
When you’re ready to get cooking, rub a bit of olive oil over the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish or lasagna pan and preheat the oven to 425. Add all of the ‘pan sauce’ ingredients, except for the mozzarella, to your prepared casserole dish and stir to combine well. Push the tomatoes out of the center to the edges and line the marinated chicken breasts up the middle. Bake for 15 minutes, then quickly take out the casserole dish and cover the top evenly with mozzarella. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until the mozzarella is bubbling and starting to brown and the internal temperature of the chicken is 165. Serve over just about anything and make sure to use up all of the saucy goodness!
