I had an overabundance of grape tomatoes in the refrigerator and decided to use them on a Caprese chicken dish for dinner tonight. Dennis loved our dinner this evening! As did I. I’m definitely going to be making this again and again. It’s a great dinner for a warm summer evening and would make a wonderful lunch as well.

I used thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts in tonight’s recipe. I started by placing the breasts on a sheet pan and brushing them with olive oil and squeezing fresh lemon juice over them. I then sprinkled kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and Herbs de Provence onto my chicken.

I placed the pan in a preheated 425 degree oven for 25 minutes, until the internal temperature hit 165 degrees. These thin sliced breasts cook pretty quickly because they are so thin. Make sure to check them at around 20 minutes.

While the chicken was baking, I took the time to halve my grape tomatoes, slice my mozzarella and slice my fresh basil into a chiffonade. This is easy to do … just stack your basil leaves, one on top of the next and so on, roll them tightly (like a cigar) and slice in thin strips. This makes for a beautiful presentation of fresh basil on many dishes.

I realize that in a traditional Caprese salad, one would use slices from a larger tomato. I happen to enjoy the small tomatoes on many dishes, so decided to use them instead with my chicken tonight. Feel free to use heirloom tomatoes or Roma tomatoes if you desire.

I drizzled a balsamic glaze over the top of my dish before serving. You can find this at most grocery stores. I like to buy mine at either Trader Joe’s or Sprouts Farmers Market.

Ingredients

4 thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

park skim mozzarella ball, sliced

fresh basil

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved

balsamic glaze

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Lay chicken on a large sheet pan. Brush with olive oil. Squeeze lemon juice over chicken. Sprinkle with kosher salt, herbs de Provence and pepper.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
4. Lay chicken on platter with mozzarella slices and tomatoes between breasts. Sprinkle basil over platter and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris