from Tracey G.

When Kris was telling me of her recipe for last week’s post: Mix It Up Monday – Pesto, Presto, Posto!, I thought of this recipe and we’d discussed adding it to hers. But then I decided since it was actually a Throwback from our old blog, I’d post it for today on its own! It’s one of my favorite chicken dishes. Not only is it it so easy it should be criminal (as I state in my original post!), but the simple ingredients combine to make a sort of au jus/sauce that if I could I’d eat with a spoon by itself, lol!

I don’t think I have run across any recipe, ever, that has surprised me as much as this one. I never expected such flavor from such simple ingredients as are found in this recipe, in this combination. And it’s almost criminal how uncomplicated and effortless this dish is, lol, but yet, tastes like you put hours into it! It’s gone through some changes, and that sounds funny when I think about it, but it had a few other things as toppings along with the cheese, but I found that if I boiled it down to the basics, it was yummier and easier as less ingredients were needed to get it done.

And here we are – the ingredients. Yep. Just 3. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, prepared pesto and provolone cheese. Usually I use shredded, but thisall I could get my hands on were slices and it worked just fine of course, lol. 🙂

Preheat your oven to 400°F. While it’s preheating, time to put this together. Start by placing the chicken breasts in a 9×13 inch baking pan. The recipe calls for 4 breasts, but sometimes I only use 3 so I downsize my pan a bit.

Once the chicken is arranged in the pan, spoon the pesto over the chicken breasts. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup. I ended up using the whole 8 oz jar this time because I wasn’t thinking and contaminated it all with raw chicken by using the same spoon to scoop it out of the bowl and to spread it around on the chicken, lol. Normally I just measure out what’s needed and proceed from there. Oh well, the pesto is the best part and it was just as yummy with all of it as only a 1/2 cup, lol.

Once you get the pesto evenly spread on the chicken, it’s time to bake it. Usually takes about 35-45 minutes for the chicken breasts to be cooked thoroughly, but I always get out my meat thermometer and check at the end of 35-40 minutes or so to see where I’m at with doneness.

After you’ve baked your chicken and it’s the correct temperature for proper doneness (which according to foodsafey.gov is 165°F and can be found here: foodsafety.gov Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures), it’s time to put on the cheese! Now, here’s where I normally use the shredded provolone, but the deli-style slices worked just fine. Pop them back into the oven for 1-2 min or until the cheese is melted.

Once the cheese is melted and as browned as you’d like, pull it out and let it rest for about 5 minutes  (I’ve let it sit for 10 minutes before and had no ill consequences, lol) before serving.

I served this batch with a garlic-buttered noodle that had some green beans mixed in, it was a bit of overload on green, lol, but it’s one of the few vegetables Harry will eat these days, so I work them in a lot, lol. It is one of my favorite ways to do a quick side dish though, while the noodles are cooking I toss in a handful or two of frozen cut green beans, so that when the noodles are done, so are the beans and they’re already tossed together that way – and then you can season any way you like 🙂

Pesto Baked Chicken

serves 4

Preheat oven to 400°F

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 6 oz each

1/2 c prepared pesto

1 c (4 oz) shredded provolone cheese

Place chicken breasts in an ungreased 9×13-inch baking dish, spoon pesto over chicken.

Bake, uncovered, at 400°F for about 35-45 minutes or internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken breast reaches 165°F. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 1-2 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.