Easy and Delicious Caprese Chicken
I have been having a very….hmm….let’s say, interesting week. Last weekend we went up to our cabin for what we hoped would be a fun and relaxing weekend.
And it was….until Sunday night. There had been a lot of rain in the area over the past week and I mean A LOT…something like 10 inches.
So, the ground had become extremely saturated and our basement started to flood. We discovered the problem about 9:00 Sunday evening. It started in the bathroom, moved into the bedrooms and by morning almost the entire basement had 1-2 inches of water.
First thing Monday morning, we called Service Master and Steve started sucking up water as best he could with his little 8 gallon wet vac. We soon realized that we weren’t going to be able to go home Monday evening as we had planned.
So, the kids went home and we stayed to deal with the mess. Since then, I’ve been doing countless loads of laundry to wash all of the bedding that had been downstairs and had gotten wet or damp. And, we’ve been waiting for the water to stop flowing in so that Service Master can come back and finish getting all of the water out and dried up.
So, here we are on Wednesday and I’m still up at the cabin. I think we will finally be able to go home tonight, as long as nothing unexpected happens today.
Last night, I was getting tired of all of the basement issues and I really just wanted to cook and I wanted to cook something blog worthy. I mean, I haven’t written a post now since last week and I was really starting to miss that.
So, I did some thinking and decided to make a breaded chicken breast and basically top it with a caprese salad. I have to say, it was fabulous.
Steve usually doesn’t gush over food, I mean, he likes what I make, but he’ll say it’s good once and that’s it. Well, I think he told me at least three times how much he liked this chicken. So, I hope you’ll give it a try, too!
Caprese Chicken
Ingredients Needed for Caprese Chicken
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 8 oz each)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp agave nectar (or sugar)
- olive oil
- 1 tomato, cut into 8 thin slices
- 8 oz fresh mozzerella, cut into 8 thin slices
- about 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
- salt and pepper
Put balsamic and agave or sugar in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Let reduce down until it has thickened into a syrup. This will take about 20 minutes.
Cut each chicken breast in half, lengthwise. Put in a gallon size ziploc bag or between two sheets of plastic wrap, two at a time. With a mallet or small fry pan, pound chicken out until it is a uniform thickness.
Take three shallow bowls or plates (I used disposable foam plates), beat the eggs and put in one and the flour and breadcrumbs in the other two.
Dip the chicken in the flour first, then the eggs and finally the breadcrumbs, making sure each piece is well coated with the breadcrumbs. Set aside on a plate.
Heat about 3 tbsp olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan) in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. It cooks up quickly because the chicken is so thin.
Put cooked chicken on a cookie sheet. Top each piece of chicken with 2 slices of tomato and 2 slices of cheese.
Put under a hot broiler until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Watch carefully, it goes quickly!
Once cheese is melted, drizzle each chicken breast with olive oil and the balsamic reduction. Sprinkle with the chopped basil, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
ENJOY!
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I really hope you get to go back home tonight Lisa and that the water has subsided. I’m sure your patience is running very thin at this point but this chicken dish certainly helped lighten the mood I’m sure. It sounds (and looks) delicious. All the flavors I love combined together. Safe travels back home! xo
Thanks, Carrie! I did finally get back home which is good! Things are at least under control now. The water finally stopped flowing in, so now it’s just the clean up and the unexpected “remodeling project”. The chicken was really good and I will definitely be making it again!
WOW Lisa this looks so good! It is going in my must make file!!
Thanks, Bobbi!!
Lisa, LOVE this recipe. Looks easy, quick, and I think my family would actually all like it. Thanks!
This was really easy to make, Rebecca, I hope your family likes it as much as we did! 🙂
Yes!!! I’m am definitely going to make this! Thank you for sharing on Thursday’s Treasures #36 dear, Pinning as usual <3 and hugs!
Thanks Debi! I hope your family enjoys it as much as we did! 🙂
Lisa,
This is a perfect summertime recipe for Chicken that we will just love. Hope you are having a great day and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
I am going to the grocery store and making this tonight!! So simple and delicious I can taste it already.
Thanks for sharing with Newlyweds Recipe Linky! I also pinned this recipe.
Thanks for pinning this, Jenna! If you like caprese salad, you will love this!! 🙂
This looks so simple and delicious Lisa! I can’t wait to get my hands on our first batch of homegrown tomatoes to make this. Thanks for sharing at the Weekend Potluck! Can’t wait to see what you bring this week!
Oh Kim, this would be so incredible with homegrown tomatoes!! 🙂
WOW oh WOW! I would have been willing to help you clean up your water mess if you’d have fed me this awesome dish. ;-} SO happy you linked up at Weekend Potluck.
Thank you! You’re so sweet! I would have fed you as much of this chicken as you wanted for help with our mess! 😉
Thanks for coming each week to Weekend Potluck, Lisa!
Congrats on another feature!!!!
Hugs, Tonya from 4 little Fergusons
http://4littlefergusons.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/sweet-pulled-pork-tacos-wavocado-cream-sauce-weekend-potluck-22/
Thank you, Tonya! I love Weekend Potluck, all of you ladies have some great blogs! Have a great weekend!!
Hi Lisa,
This sounds and looks wonderful! I just have a question about the Balsamic Reduction….do you just pour the vinegar into the pan once the chicken is done cooking and heat it for a few minutes? Can’t wait to give this a try!
Hi Sharry! The balsamic actually takes about 20 minutes or so to reduce, so you’ll want to start it before you start cooking the chicken. If the balsamic is finished before the chicken, you can just remove it from the heat and it will be fine. 🙂
Thanks Lisa, that sounds easy enough. I think this is a dish my family will love!