It’s a Tuesday afternoon, I just got off a video conference call for work and I’m standing in front of my refrigerator wondering what I’m going to fix for dinner. How many of you have been there? {It’s okay to raise your hand!} I typically do a decent job of meal planning, however, I definitely have those weeks that I’m just not in the mood to plan ANYTHING! It usually comes after a busy weekend filled with activities, or a trip home to Kansas to visit family, but I have them. I’m normal.
This past Tuesday as I stood looking into the refrigerator, I noticed I had a bottle of pesto that I had picked up on a previous shopping trip. {It was for another recipe that I didn’t end up making!} I thought to myself….what goes better with pesto than tomatoes & mozzarella cheese?? Um, nothing! Am I right?
So, I thawed out some chicken breasts, topped them with pesto, roma tomatoes & mozzarella cheese, popped them in the oven, and came up with this gorgeous meal. It’s super delicious, has little prep, and it’s beautiful.
Baked Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 6-8 slices Mozzerella cheese
- 4-6 ounces Basil pesto
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9×13 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Lay chicken breasts in the dish and top with basil pesto, mozzarella cheese & sliced roma tomatoes.
- Salt & pepper, as desired.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until the center is no longer pink, then broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese begins to brown and is nice & bubbly.
- Serve and enjoy!
BONUS RECIPE:
As a side to this beautiful & tasty dish, I wanted to do something a little healthier than pasta. I had a bag of riced cauliflower in the fridge that I had picked up at Costco the weekend before, so I opted for mashed cauliflower. I had never made this dish before because in my mind it always seemed to be difficult, but it wasn’t! It’s a super easy side dish that can be made in the microwave!! Bonus!
P.S. My boys thought it was really mashed potatoes, cleaned their plates and even asked me to save the leftovers to put in their lunch the next day!
Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 5 cups Riced cauliflower
- 3 tbsp water
- 3-4 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/8 cup Shredded Cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a microwave safe dish, combine the riced cauliflower & water. Stir to coat.
- Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes.
- Add milk, butter, cheese & salt and pepper.
- Mash with a potato masher, top with a touch of cheese and enjoy.