Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

This recipe inspiration comes from one of my best friends, Kristen, who made us a meal similar to this when my son was born. You know those early newborn days when you can barely find time to feed yourself? Well this meal came in clutch for us and we had enough for leftovers for days! It was so delicious that I put my own spin on it and it’s a weekly staple now in our house! Great the next day for leftovers as well.

If you like Balsamic, you’ll love this recipe!! I always over-do the balsamic, and garlic for that matter. So if you’re not a huge balsamic fan, tone down how much you add. I make recommendations, you make decisions!

Easily modified by adding other vegetables you enjoy, like mushrooms, olives or spinach. My husband doesn’t like cheese, so I omit it on his chicken. On the other hand I LOVE cheese so I add more to mine. Sometimes some parmesan too if I have it on hand. You can also do whole grain pasta, or veggie noodles for low carb! In these pictures I am using whole wheat bowtie pasta.

The Perfect Bite of this dinner includes a noodle, bite sized piece of chicken smothered in mozzarella, with a tomato or two to round it out. The bruschetta flavor seeps throughout this dish so you'll taste it with every bite!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serving Size: 2 dinner portions

Ingredients:

· 1 package cherry/grape tomatoes, washed & cut in half

· 1/2 red onion, chopped

· Fresh basil leaves, chopped

· 1 tbsp. Minced garlic

· ¼ cup Extra Virgin olive oil (divided)

· 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

· ¼ cup Balsamic vinegar

· Salt/pepper to taste

· 2 thin chicken breasts

· 2 slices of mozzarella cheese

· Pasta of choice

· Balsamic reduction (optional)

Instructions:

1. Boil water for pasta while preparing veggies.

2. Wash & chop veggies- halve the tomatoes and dice the onion. Chop basil. Add all together in a bowl with minced garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic, mix together.

3. Add bruschetta mixture to small pot on medium heat. Sauté until desired texture (I like my tomatoes well done which takes roughly 15 minutes). Add more olive oil or balsamic if needed/desired throughout cooking.

4. While veggies & pasta is cooking, heat pan with olive oil on med/high heat. Once warm add seasoned chicken breasts (Italian seasoning, salt & pepper). Cook then flip & cook on other side.

5. Add mozzarella to melt on chicken towards end of cooking.

6. Drain pasta, divide into bowls with a little EV olive oil.

7. Top with chicken & bruschetta mixture.

8. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar or balsamic reduction. Add extra fresh basil if desired.

*This one requires a bit more time managing, and it’s taken me a few tries to get it all right. The best way to cook this is to really have everything going all at once. So you’ll need 2 pots, a pan, and 3 burners total.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below!