Whining, Wine-ing & Winning

By Whining and Dining With Lindsay

Tonight I wanted a simple meal that would please my husband and make him think I spent a lot more time on dinner than I actually did. The truth is, it came together much quicker than I expected. With cooler weather outside and Kansas wind making grilling more difficult, this entire meal came together easily in the oven after a quick prep and about 30 minutes of baking.

The result was a delicious, fresh dinner that felt a little fancy without requiring much effort at all.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 (16 oz) package sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 package grape tomatoes, sliced
• About 15 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• About 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus a little extra for drizzling)
• Balsamic glaze for finishing

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Carefully slice each chicken breast across the top, making several cuts but not cutting all the way through. This creates pockets for the filling.
3. Slice the mozzarella pieces in half if needed so they fit easily into the chicken.
4. Stuff each pocket with mozzarella and sliced grape tomatoes.
5. Sprinkle the chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.
6. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the chicken and place in a baking dish.

Bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes, loosely tenting the dish with foil for the first half of the cooking time. Remove the foil halfway through and drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired.

Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

For a little extra color, switch the oven to broil for 1–3 minutes at the end to lightly brown the cheese.

Once removed from the oven, sprinkle with fresh basil and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Serve with warm vegetables or your favorite side dish.

In our house, we paired it with simple roasted asparagus for an easy, healthy dinner.

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out!

-> If this one didn’t suck, I promise the rest don’t either -> Wine-ing & Dining with Lindsay -> Wine-d down with me! 🍷