Chicken Mozzarella

If you're stuck for something easy to cook for dinner, try this:

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
• six cloves of garlic, minced(chopped up real fine)
• 3 tbs butter
• 1/3rd cup of dry white wine
• fresh mozzarella cheese(like school paste)
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/3rd cup breadcrumbs
• 1/3rd cup grated parmesan cheese
• one small yellow onion, chopped(thumbnail-size pieces)
• one green pepper, chopped
• 1 box of cooked pasta, or a cup of rice, cooked.

Heat the oven to 350F

Slice the chicken through the middle(carefully) so that each boob(sorry about that) is the same size and shape, but half as thick.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium-hot heavy skillet--I like All-Clad--and wait until the foam subsides.

Now add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Just until it gets fragrant. Maybe four minutes, just don't brown it.

Add the wine and cook it down by half; should take about 7 minutes.

Put three boobs in the skillet. Don't overcrowd in an attempt to speed things up, you'll lose the heat. Brown on both sides, but don't cook through!

Put the cooked(half-cooked) chicken in a glass baking dish big enough to hold all the chicken in one layer.

Put a half-inch slice of mozzarella on each piece, top that with a basil leaf, some breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

Put the onion and the pepper in the skillet along with the last tablespoon of butter and a splash of wine. Deglaze the pan. This means that the liquid from all these things(lots of water in vegetables...)will soften the browned bits of garlic and chicken and become a very flavorful sauce.

Add the crushed tomatoes and heat through. Pour all over the chicken and cook it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Don't overcook! Sit down. Have a glass of wine. Gaze longingly at your loved one. Quiz your children on the formulae for the volume and surface area of solids.

Serve with rice or pasta. Garnish with a basil floret or a few artfully arranged leaves.

This is really easy. Don't let all those ingredients throw you! It will take about 40 minutes, tastes fabulous, yield lunch for tomorrow, and the kids will eat it too.

There you have it.