Swede Heart Dinner Part 1

Baked Pesto Chicken
4 servings
cook time: 35-40 mins.

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
1/2 C basil pesto
1/2 C mozzarella


Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Trim chicken and cut into lengthwise stripes, about 1.5-2 inches wide. Season with salt and pepper.  Spread 1/4 cup pesto in bottom of pan (9x13 or bigger). Lay chicken on pesto and spread remaining pesto on the top of the chicken.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes, until it is just barely cooked through.  Then top with mozzarella and put chicken back in the oven for 5 minutes leaving the foil off.  Then switch your oven to broil and broil for 5 minutes to brown the cheese.

Side note:  I used more pesto than the recipe said.  I used about 1/3 C on the bottom and 1/3-1/2 for the top.  I also used a 9x13 pan.  I have a low and high setting for my broiler and I used low.




Since having children, going out on Valentine's for a nice dinner with my husband has become difficult.  So two years ago I decided to start a tradition.  I call it my Swede Heart Dinner.  My husband is Swedish (I pretend to be) and we are very big into his Swedish heritage.  I have a slow growing Swedish China set that I cherish dearly.  I bring it out on Valentine's Day for this special occasion.

Porsgrund, Farmers Rose pattern

Swede Heart Dinner has become one of my favorite "fancy" dinners to make because it is a great way for me to express how much I love and appreciate my family.  There is something so wonderful about cooking someone a great meal that they enjoy.  To me it is better than the meal itself.  I feel so happy when I cook good food for other people.

Ok, enough about me.  It is on to the important stuff.....FOOD! Since this was a big dinner I am going to focus on my two favorite dishes of the evening.  One of the main dishes that I made was baked pesto chicken.  It was amazing!  It was my first time to make it.  This recipe is VERY simple and easy follow (however I managed to mess up..LOL).   I accidentally put the cheese on right away, but I put the foil on and pretended it never happened.  I forgot to set a timer so I was just kinda winged it at this point.  I let my husband try it first and he thought it was great!  He said the chicken was very moist.  I was so- excited because I thought I might have over cooked.  My husband and 2 1/2 year old daughter loved it.  This dish is here to stay in our family.  :)

Being a young family, we are just starting to instill traditions.  Like my beloved china set, we hope to see this tradition grow with our family.

   Stay tuned for part 2 of my Swede Heart Dinner.  It was my other favorite part of the meal, dessert!!!!

(Recipe source:  http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2010/09/easy-recipe-for-baked-pesto-chicken.html)