Pesto Parmesan Chicken

A girlfriend of mine made this for dinner for me a while back, it used to be in my weeknight dinner rotation quite often. A couple of weeks ago I realized it had been quite a long time since I had made it so, I decided to bring it back into the rotation, and I have been very pleased that I did! You only need a few things and the recipe is quick and easy.

Pesto Parmesan Chicken

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 
• 3 tablespoons basil pasto
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (you can use light, to lighten the calories)
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan or Asiago cheese
• Basil for garnish, not vital if you don't have any basil on hand

I would love to tell you all that I used fresh pesto that I made from scratch with basil from my garden and a mortar and pestle. But.... I don't have a garden or a mortar and pestle for that matter so for that night, store bought it was!

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray. Between pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper, please each chicken breast smooth side down; gently pound with a mallet or rolling pin until about 1/2- inch thick

In a shallow dish, mix together the pesto and mayonnaise. In another dish mix together the bread crumbs and cheese.

Dip the chicken into the pesto and mayo mixture then dip into the cheese and bread crumb mixture, making sure the chicken is fully coated with both mixtures.

Bake 15-20 minutes, turning once, until the juice of the chicken is clear when the center of the thickest part is cut and coating is golden brown. Garnish with fresh basil if you have some on hand.

Heats up very nicely for lunch the next day at work!