Roll with it!

That's my new mantra these days.  Lots of things getting thrown my way, but I'm just going to roll with it.  So why shouldn't my food do the same???

My friend and fellow food blogger, Karen Pavone, asked me if I had an entree using basil for an upcoming post she was working on. Of course my first thought was a delicious pesto chicken recipe that is my go-to dish for entertaining.  But Karen already had a pesto recipe that she was going to use, so I had to think of something different.  This is the perfect season for that though....becasue it's tomato season!  Basil always makes me think of tomatoes; they dig each other and are the perfect culinary couple. If you know me, you know my absolute love of a Caprese Salad, so I thought why not stuff that perfect combo into a chicken breast??  Oh yeah....

Start by pounding boneless, skinless chicken breasts very thin.  If you had the kind of weekend I did, here's a delicous chance to get out some frustration!  Pound the heck out of it, until it's about a 1/4" thin.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then layer tomatoes, basil. mozzarella cheese, and lemon slices.  Be sure to remove all the pith from the lemon or it will leave a bitter taste in your mouth, and no one likes that.

Then roll the breasts from one of the short ends, tucking the filling in as you go.  Secure with toothpicks (don't use colored ones or your chicken can end up with blue and green spots - so not pretty).  You could stop here and just coat with a little olive oil and pop them in the oven.  But I want more.  So I dredged the rolls in egg, flour and a panko mixture with garlic, lemon zest and parmesan.  Oh yeah, more is good!

Brush with a little olive oil and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is heated through to 165 and lightly browned.  Slice the chicken breasts to expose the beauty inside, then pat yourself on the back for a job well done!  Pretty food!

I served this over summer squash thinly sliced into "noodles" (inspired by my dinner at Pican the other night) tossed in a tomato & basil cream sauce.  The picture is a bit of a hot mess, but dang, it was soooo good!

Yum it up!