Baked Pesto Chicken (and Pasta)

We have a late addition to the recipes! This is a new one at our house, but it's a keeper!! The recipe originally is only for the chicken, but we add in pasta and fresh veggies to make it a full dish.

Baked Pesto Chicken

Ingredients: 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning chicken
1/2 cup basil pesto
mozzarella cheese to taste (we use the whole bag since we adapted this to be a huge recipe by adding pasta)

16 oz angel hair pasta

assorted veggies - we use zucchini, yellow squash, green squash and a few peppers. Tomatoes and mushrooms would be good if you're into that sort of thing :)

Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 375*. Cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces. (I cut the larger ones into 3 strips and the smaller ones into 2 strips.)

Spray a 9" x 12" (or 8.5" X 12.5") baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 cup basil pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken strips over the pesto, then spread 1/4 cup more basil pesto over the chicken.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (or use a baking dish with a tight-fitting lid) and bake the chicken for 15-20 minutes, just until chicken is barely firm and cooked through. (Don't cook too much at this point, or the chicken will be overcooked by the time the cheese is melted and browned.)

While chicken is cooking, cook a box of angel hair pasta al dente. Also, chop veggies - they don't have to be small.

When chicken is barely cooked through, remove foil and add in pasta and veggies. Top with mozzarella cheese. Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 10-15 minutes more, just until veggies are cooked.

The pesto is such an awesome part of the dish, so if you feel inclined, add another container! I also think I did 6 chicken breasts because of adding the pasta.