Caprese Balsamic Shells

Another recipe from this weekend was a dinner I made for my sister, boyfriend, and I. My sister and I could not decide what we wanted but knew we were craving fresh basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella. I knew my boyfriend wouldn't eat just that so I threw in some balsamic baked chicken! Here it goes:


Caprese Balsamic Shells:

• 1 box whole grain medium shells
• 1 lbs. chicken breast (give or take)
• 1 16oz pack of fresh mozzarella
• 1 bunch of fresh basil
• 5 vine tomatoes (you could do grape tomatoes too)
• garlic, salt, pepper to taste
• Balsamic vinegar
• Creamy Balsamic dressing

This is another easy recipe, the hard part is the fact that the chopping is a little tedious! But really, very very easy and quick.

Heat the oven up to 375 to start. Put a pot of water on the stove to get the boil going. The pack of chicken I had consisted of three breasts, which I butterflied so that they would cook in half the time. I laid them on a baking sheet, covered them in the balsamic dressing and some of the vinegar, sprinkled garlic, salt, and pepper on them, then let them bake. I would say baking time was 15-20 minutes, but definitely check it for yourselves! Once the water is boiling, throw the shells in and allow them to cook. In the meantime, chop up the basil into small pieces, slice the tomatoes into thin slices (if using grape I would cut them in half, but some like them whole!), and dice the mozzarella cheese into bite size squares. Let them sit aside while the chicken and shells finish cooking. You have a minute to breathe! :) Drain the shells when they are done, take the chicken from the oven and let sit for a few minutes (but don't let them get cold. Maybe 3 minutes). Dice the chicken, put the chicken, tomatoes, basil, and shells all back into the pot you boiled the shells in. I then poured a mix of the balsamic dressing and vinegar into the pot (I don't do straight vinegar because it is too strong, I like how the dressing still is flavorful but tones down the tang in the vinegar). Mix it all up, season to taste, then throw the cheese in and serve. Easy as that! 

(Sorry that the pic looks a little sloppy, but it's hard to show all the colors of the dish in a red bowl...)