What to Eat Wednesday

Welcome to another edition of What to Eat Wednesday!

I'm excited for today's recipe! It's a favorite of mine.

It's Italian and it's easy. Two of my favorite food features.

The recipe that inspired this recipe is {HERE}.

We discovered this recipe in our Comfort Food Diet Cookbook by Taste of Home, and we've since altered it to become our own version.

I know that Caprese is typically just tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, but I love cheese, and the original version had ricotta in it, so I rolled with it.

This dish will feed 4 people, and I love to pair it with a big green salad. The part-skim version of this recipe is 342 per serving.

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Cheesy Chicken Caprese

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Ingredients

• Small - Medium Palmful Italian Seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 Boneless Chicken Breasts (about 4 oz each)
• 2 tsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 C Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese (or Homemade Whole Milk Ricotta)
• 1 C Crushed Tomatoes
• Medium palmful Basil (either fresh or dried, if using fresh coarsely chop it up)
• A couple medium handfuls Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Balsamic Vinegar

Directions

1. Prep an 11x17 dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350. If your chicken breasts are more than 4 oz (and they almost always are) then slice them down to size or don't. Just remember that the calories are for 4 oz breasts and your cooking time may be extended because of the added bulk. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the Italian Seasoning and a dash of Salt and Pepper; rub over chicken breasts. In a large nonstick pan, heat oil over Medium-High heat and brown chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side. * I make sure to use all of the seasonings, even if I have to sprinkle more of the seasonings over the chicken while it's browning.  
3. Transfer chicken breasts to the 11x17 dish. Combine the Ricotta Cheese with a dash of salt and pepper. Spoon ricotta mixture over chicken. Top with tomatoes. Sprinkle basil over tomatoes. *I go little heavier on the pepper in the cheese, but it's just personal preference. 
4. Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over top of everything, and bake for another 10 minutes or until your chicken reaches 165. Drizzle Balsamic on top. 

I hope you have a terrific day!

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