Italian Chicken

Thank goodness for Pinterest because I find so many incredibly recipes. I am going to try really really hard to start blogging my finds and my tries. I am not good at taking pictures of all the ingredients before I use them but I will start trying to get better at doing that.

Tonight I made Italian chicken that I found on Pinterest that was created by a blogger called Our Story: LOVE, BASEBALL, TRAVEL, FOOD, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.

This one was super easy and that's what I love about it. I love cooking but I like things that are simple, fresh, and easy to do, because I really don't have time with a full time job, full time school, and a full time husband and son to take care of to try and be Martha Stewart in the kitchen. I also like as few ingredients as possible because well, that means it is cheaper. ;)

For this dish I bought

• 6 roma tomato's 
• 1 can of artichoke hearts 
• 4 boneless Smart chicken breasts ( I buy Smart chicken because it's already trimmed and it's organic)
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Garlic

You will also need ( and should probably already have in your pantry)

• Flour
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• Sugar
• Salt and Pepper

You chop the tomato, drain the artichoke's and cut them into two to three slices depending on how big they are, I added about 3 cloves of garlic sliced thin (the original recipe didn't ask for that much but we LOVE garlic in this house so I added more) add a teaspoon of sugar and about 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir until mixed. Now, I really really dislike sugary sauces. I cannot stand it when people put sugar in their spaghetti sauce so I was reluctant on the sugar but the artichokes are so acidic that it balances it really well. The flour is because the tomato and artichokes create a TON of juice and you don't want to much of that. However, I discovered that with all the juice it created once cooked combined with the EVOO, it made an awesome sauce for noodles for the side. 

Put your chicken breasts in the bottom of the baking dish and season with salt and pepper, liberally. I don't know where you buy your chicken but mine doesn't come seasoned. Spoon the mixture on top of the chicken.

Next you just bake at 350 for about 45 minutes and then top it off with your preferred amount of Mozzarella cheese, which if you're us...you like a ton 'o cheese!!  Bake or broil (if you broil you only need to do so for about 3 minutes and keep and eye on it) for another few minutes until the cheese browns. After you take out, add your chopped fresh basil and it will wilt on contact. 

We dished a breast with the topping over noodles and our son gobbled this down! He even said to double the tomato and triple the artichoke the next time. Our son is our ginny pig and harshest critic when in comes to our cooking and if he hums while he eats, we know we've done good! He was humming!!

Right after I finish this blog I am packing this yumminess into my lunch for the next day!!

Enjoy!!!