{Pinned there, Done that} Baked Pesto Chicken

This past week I was on a new recipe kick, so I went to my Recipes - Dinner board to find something new and fun to try. I decided on Baked Pesto Chicken from Kalyn's Kitchen.

It did not disappoint, and to be honest, I think my almost 2 year old ate it the best! We served it over egg noodles with steamed carrots and broccoli.

In case the recipe gets lost:
Baked Pesto Chicken
src: Kalyn's Kitchen

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless cchickenbreasts
salt and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning chicken
1/2 cup basil pesto
2 oz. (1/2 cup) grated low-fat mozzarella cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken pieces, then cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces.

Spray a 9" x 12" baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 cup basil pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken strips over the pesto, then spread 1/4 cup more basil pesto over the chicken.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (or use a baking dish with a tight-fitting lid) and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, just until chicken is barely firm and cooked through. (Don't cook too much at this point, or the chicken will be overcooked by the time the cheese is melted and browned.)

When chicken is barely cooked through, remove foil and sprinkle chicken with 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese. Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 5 minutes more, just until cheese is melted. After melting the cheese for 5 minutes, switched oven to broil and broiled for 5 minutes more, just long enough to get the cheese lightly browned.

Serve hot. There will be some flavorful juice in the bottom of the dish when this is done, so you may want to serve with rice, couscous, or quinoa to soak up the juice.