Chicken Margherita

We eat a lot of chicken in my house. That is probably plainly evident by the recipes I’ve made here over the past few months. However its always tough finding new and interesting ways to prepare it that don’t end up being a different version of the same dish. However I found this recipe and thought that the concept was a great idea and it seemed easy enough. You mimic the flavors of a pizza margherita on chicken and it turned out absolutely amazing. Its an interesting combination and it really couldn’t be easier. Give it a shot and see what you think.

Shock of shocks, we start out with popping a pan on the stove set to medium heat. Now like I mentioned yesterday I got chicken tenders because the whole breasts were looking none-so-good. Its yummy either way but I prefer the breasts for this because it has more surface space for the seasonings and tomatoes.

Now here’s somebody who hasn’t shown up on Missypedia in a while. Monkey is looking for some fud!!!! Oh and here’s a first. Chews makes an appearance. We think its gushyfood time apparently. Sorry kittehs, no gushyfood now.

Rinse and lay the chicken out. Now we season. I like a blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. You can use whatever you like but I think this gives it a nice pizza parlor type flavor. It makes me sing A Solo Mio when it cooks so sprinkle it on pretty liberally.

I like to spray the pan with a little bit of Pam to help the chicken brown up and then add them to the fire. I add as many as I can fit but since this pan is small it’ll have to be made in two batches. Oh well.

On the second side I simply add a dash of salt and pepper. Let it cook until its lightly browned. You don’t need to cook it thru as it’ll be going into the oven. No need to ensure done-ness in the pan.

While that’s going, set the oven to 300 degrees and get your tomatoes out. Slice them up into roughly half inch slices. If you make them any thinner they’ll wither up and turn to mush. This size withers a bit but still ensure a tomato when you cut into it later.

Once the chicken is browned on the opposite side move it to the dish you’re going to use for baking. I use these rinky dink metal tins because A) I can throw them away instead of cleaning them and B) I might as well use them up before I move home in 3 weeks. I’ve got to say, they work pretty well so feel free to be a slacker and use the throw away tins. My name is Missy and I support this message. That’s what I get for writing this while watching the Primaries.

Now layer the tomatoes on top of the chicken like this.

I like to sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper for good measure. Then add a small sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Then top them with mozzarella cheese so that when you’re done they look like this.

Second batch done! Into the oven they go!

Now its time to prepare a side dish. I like to serve it with pasta. I know, you’re shocked. A salad - pfft. Gimme pasta. A vegetable? Nah, carbs are where its at. So we get a pot of water on the stove to boil.

Once the water boils add your pasta of choice. I’m using rotini because its what I had in my pantry. You can use whatever your sweet little hearts desire. Because dear readers, I love you and I want you to be happy. Once the water boils, add the pasta.

By the time the pasta is almost done cooking the chicken should be pretty well finished. Honestly, I don’t time it. I just keep an eye on it and when the top is nicely browned then its-a good to go. The smell makes me feel very Super Mario up in here. Or maybe Super Luigi. Luigi never got enough love back in the day.