Caprese Stuffed Chicken with Balsamic Reduction

Who doesn't love Italy?

Even if you've never been to Italy you love it.

We also love the Italian colors of red, green & white, they are used in everything, flags, food, decorations, furniture. They are everywhere.

We love salad, especially caprese salad which is tomato (red), basil (green) & cheese (white) with balsamic vinegar.

So since we love all those things so much why not stuff them into the meat that we also love so much, chicken & top it with a sauce that everyone loves as well, balsmic vinegar.

I'm always trying to come up with new & different things to do with chicken. We have it alot around the GWW house & it gets boring fixing it the same way all the time. So, I thought I was being brilliant when I came up with this recipe.

Come to find out I'm not the first person to create this.

I was a little disappointed to find out I wasn't as creative as I thought or at least not anymore creative than every other foodie out there.

But I'm okay with it, I think.

Let's see what you think.

I started with 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast. These were of pretty good size too. So I placed them on top of some wax paper & covered them with another sheet of wax paper.

And I beat them to within an inch of there lives. Actually to about 1/2 an inch. It took banging on the chicken on both sides to get them as thin as I wanted. My poor mallet was worn out.

Then I seasoned both sides with seasoned salt, pepper, garlic salt & italian seasoning & set them to the side.

I grabbed 3 roma tomatoes, one for each chicken breast, sliced them in half & got all the seeds out.

I sliced some fresh mozzarella, 2 slices for each chicken breast & I grabbed a basil leaf or 2 (not pictured) for each chicken breast as well.

I layered the tomatoes, basil & cheese on one end of the chicken breast.

And carefully rolled it up, securing it with toothpicks. This is not the neatest chicken rolling job I know, but it's the best I could do. Next time I may beat the chicken out thinner to see if that helps.

I then heated some olive oil over medium high heat & seared the outside of the chicken, again, not an easy task with the toothpicks.

I browned the chicken on each side for about 2-3 mins, just long enough to get a good golden crust on them.

Then they were placed in a greased baking dish & baked on 375 for about 30 mins.

They came out golden & delicious. But as you can see I needed to do a better job of closing up the ends of the chicken as some of the cheese made it's way out. So make that mental note for yourself.

While the chicken baked I prepared a balsamic reduction. I failed to take pictures of that, but it would have been pretty boring because all that consist of is 1 cup of balsamic vinegar brought to a boil then the heat reduced to simmer until it reduces by half, then add 1/4 cup of brown sugar & continue heating until mixture is thick & syrup like.

Slice your chicken & drizzle with the reduction & serve. The balsamic reduction is the key to this chicken, it was a delicious combination.

Try it yourself & let me know how it turns out.

Caprese Stuffed Chicken with Balsamic Reduction
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded to 1/4" thick
Seasoned Salt, Garlic Salt, Black Pepper & Italian Seasoning to taste
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced in half & seeds removed
6 slices 1/4 slices of mozzarella cheese
3-6 fresh basil leaves
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Season both sides of the chicken breast with the salts, pepper & italian seasoning. Place 2 tomato halves, 1 or 2 basil leaves & 2 slices of cheese on one end of chicken breast. Roll chicken, jelly roll style & secure sides & ends with toothpicks. Heat oil over medium high heat, place chicken breast in oil & sear each side, about 3 minutes per side. Place chicken breast in baking dish in greased baking dish & bake for 30 minutes. While chicken bakes heat balsamic vinegar over high heat to boiling, reduce heat & simmer until vinegar has reduced by half. Add brown sugar & continue heating until mixture has thickened & has a syrup like texture. Once chicken is done, slice & drizzle with balsamic reduction to serve.