Grilled Chicken Caprese

It is not quite tomato season in Wisconsin, but I had a hankering for a caprese salad after seeing Novice Chef's Caprese Chicken on Pinterest I decided that I needed to create my own take on caprese chicken. I am all about marinating and grilling chicken breasts. Baked, sauteed and fried are all delicious, but do not hold a candle to grilled chicken, in my opinion. I kept the flavors simple in this dish with an easy pantry friend marinade of balsamic, olive oil, brow sugar and garlic. I knew the flavors would make the chicken pop when pared with my balsamic reduction with warm tomatoes and gooey melted fresh mozzarella cheese.  I also topped the final product with a little extra freshly chopped basil because, in my world, extra basil is great! 

My family totally dug this meal and it was so easy to prepare! I find grilling to be a perfect weeknight option and giving the chicken a little caprese twist does away with any "boring chicken" notions. I serves my chicken with Parmesan couscous and an arugula salad, but this would be fantastic with pasta of over a salad. 

Tonight, I am going to swing by the gym for a quick workout and my friend Emily is coming over a little t.v. viewing and a little (grilled) pork tenderloin.... win win all around! Kellen recently got a new swing set and his been excited about having his friends over to enjoy his new toy with him. 

Today I was looking at vacation pictures my sister posted and love the ones of Kellen and I swimming together. It was so wonderful to have an entire week together and I hope we will be lucky enough to do it again....or before I before an "embarrassing mom".... Time goes by way too fast! 

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbl brown sugar

2  cloves garlic, minced

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbl granulated sugar

One pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup basil, chopped (reserved 2 Tbl for topping)

8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into 8 slices

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients. Place chicken into a large resealable bag and pour in the marinate. Toss to coat and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but 8 hours is preferable. 

In a medium pan, slowly simmer 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar and granulated sugar till reduced by 1/3. Add tomatoes and basil and cook over low heat while you prepare the chicken. It is important to keep the heat low enough once the vinegar has reduced to the tomatoes and basil cook slowly.  

Heat grill to medium heat. Remove chicken from marinate and grill chicken 3-5 minutes per side or until no longer pink (this will depend on size and thickness of the chicken breast).  During the last minute of cooking place two slices of cheese on the chicken and allow it to melt. Remove chicken from grill one the cheese has melted. 

To serve, plate the chicken and spoon the tomato mixture over the chicken. Top with a bit of the reserved basil and serve immediately.