Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken

Sick of plain chicken breast, side of starch (…potato, rice, corn, pasta..) and a green veggie? Me too. I’m actually unable to bring myself to serve the afore mentioned to my Fireman.. but let alone to even myself.

One time my Fireman made a comment that he could eat the same thing most nights of the week if I ever don’t feel like preparing a meal. That just makes my stomach hurt. Dude. Boring. I need variety. Outside of my breakfast ritual (at the moment, I’m still obsessed enjoying my Greek yogurt and Flaxseed Granola every morning) lunch and dinner need to be something different. So–>oo sorry to burst your bubble, Fireboy. You’ll be getting a change up as frequently as possible. There are too many recipes pouring out of my brain, and not to mention the slew of inspirational recipes I read on a daily basis. There just isn’t enough days in the week to make all that I desire to try. I actually tossed and turned last night until finally I got up and wrote a recipe down that I’ll be sharing with my CB readers shortly.

I’ve shared a pretty similar recipe to this before {Caprese Chicken}, but this just allows for yet another super easy weeknight protein to be made fixed up superfast. I prepared a full recipe (serving 4) and had the other two breasts to take along with me for 2 days of lunches. Once I added it to a big green salad with (more) balsamic dressing, and the other day I {surprise} sliced and ate the breast on 2 white corn tortillas, topped with shredded lettuce. Made for two additional super satisfying lunch meals, that took hardly anytime to prepare.

I marinated my chicken for about 2 hours prior to cooking. You can easily start the marinade before leaving for work, and pull out to cook once you arrive home. Feel free to buy store bought prepared bruschetta- but the cheaper way to go would be to take the extra 5 minutes to prep-chop-toss your own homemade version.

Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken

INGREDIENTS
Bruschetta

4 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 cup diced sweet onion

8 fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced into chiffonade
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Chicken

4 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil,

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup part skim mozzarella

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and pound the pieces down to one inch in thickness (use a rolling pin or heavy spoon to pound). Place the chicken in a container or zip top bag along with vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic. and salt and pepper. Mix everything around to make sure the chicken is coated in the marinade. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, basil garlic, salt and balsamic. Toss gently to combine. Refrigerate until ready for use

Preheat a grill pan over medium heat on the stovetop. Spray with cooking spray. Remove chicken from marinade (discard). Grill chicken for 4 minutes on each side, brushing with additional balsamic vinegar, as desired.

Preheat broiler to HI. Place cooked chicken breasts on a foil lined sheet pan, top with 1/4 cup tomato mixture. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon or so of cheese and place under the broiler for 2-4 minutes, until cheese melts. Serve warm.

Nutrition Information

Serves 4 (1 chicken, each)

Calories: 200

Fat: 5 g

Carbohydrates: 12 g

Fiber: 1 g

Protein: 26 g