Chicken with Pesto

I'm not sure why, but chicken and pesto are just a match made in heaven.  They just go together.  So it's no surprise that this is one of my favorite dishes.  As I stated in my post for homemade pesto, pesto itself is tricky in that you either like it or you don't.  Everyone in my house says they like this dish, and they do not love pesto like I do. 

My thought is, if you can get non-pesto lovers to eat this dish, then it is a winner.  What's not to love about this dish anyway - it's chicken smothered in pesto and cheese - YUM!  I could eat this everyday and not get sick of it.  

Chicken with Pesto

4 chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
3/4 - 1 cup pesto (I use my homemade basil pesto. Click here for the recipe)
Fresh or sliced mozzarella 
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.  Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.  In the bottom of the baking dish spread a little less than 1/2 of the pesto all around.  Lay the chicken breasts on top of the pesto, then generously spoon the remaining pesto on top of each piece of chicken.  

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from and top the chicken with the mozzarella cheese (if you are using fresh mozzarella, just break it up and place it over the top of each chicken breast).  Place back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.