Bruschetta Chicken

Today I'm sharing a favorite recipe that was given to me by a friend many years ago - Bruschetta Chicken. This is a great dish to make for company, since it's delicious, super easy, and looks impressive! When I was fiddling around with this in the kitchen, my husband concocted a balsamic vinegar sauce to go with it, so I've included the recipe for that as well.

Ingredients:
Chicken:
1/2 c. flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approx. 1 lb.)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the kind my kids call "shaky cheese")
1/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1 T. butter, melted

Topping:
2 large tomatoes
3 T. minced fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
*Note: I usually double the ingredients in the bruschetta topping because a love to load excessive amounts of it on my chicken. And eat it with a spoon while I'm waiting for the chicken to cook.

Optional balsamic vinaigrette ingredients: 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar, 1 T. sugar

Preheat your oven to 375. Then, get your topping ready. First, you're going to want to chop your tomatoes and basil. For a tutorial on how to perfectly dice tomatoes, go here.

Aren't those pretty? To easily mince the basil, first remove the stems, then roll leaves and chop.

Mix together the chopped tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Mmmmmmm.......

Let that sit in the fridge for a bit while you do the rest. Sample with a spoon periodically if you need to. Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip the chicken in flour, then in eggs and place in a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Be sure to let most of the egg run off, so you don't end up with too much in the baking dish (like I have in the photo below). Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and melted butter, and sprinkle over the chicken.

Loosely cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 5-15 minutes longer or until top is browned.

Then, spoon the tomato mixture over the chicken and return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until mixture is warmed through.

Yuuummmmmm......

My husband, who can't leave a recipe well enough alone, also made a balsamic vinaigrette to drizzle on top. For that, take 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar and 1 T. sugar. Simmer on the stove until reduced by half, then drizzle on top of chicken and tomato mixture.

 

Try it out and let me know what you think! Oh, and since I'm a horrible parent and don't make my kids eat what we're eating, we also adapted this by giving it to my picky kids without the tomato topping, and they LOVED it! Like a giant chicken nugget. Ahhh... gourmet cooking for kids....