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The first thing to is is pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees (F).
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For this particular recipe, I decided not to butterfly the chicken breasts because I thought theyd be too thin.
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Instead, I placed the chicken breast on a cutting board (I use one of those thin overlays just for meat) and placed a piece of plastic wrap over the top.
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Gently pound out the breast until you have a pretty even thickness.
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Repeat until youve done this to the four pieces.
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Season each piece of chicken with salt.
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Now were ready to create the breading station.
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In three separate pans, add the flour, bread crumbs, and beaten egg.
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Before diving into the breading process, have your baking sheet ready to go.
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For this particular dish, I lined my cookie sheet with a silicone mat if you dont have a silicone mat, then use parchment paper.
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This step is important because, although most cookie sheets are non-stick, the breading tends to stick anyways.
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Using parchment or a silicone mat will prevent this from happening.
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This is also true since were not using a ton of oil or butter for the baking.
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Begin breading the chicken by dredging the chicken in the flour, then the egg, then the panko bread crumbs.
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I used to think the flour part was unnecessary until I tried it.
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This step really helps the crumbs adhere to the chicken, creating a nice even crust.
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Transfer the chicken to the baking sheet.
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Now spray each chicken on both sides with the cooking spray or the oil mister.
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Make sure you have a fair amount before putting the chicken in the oven.
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Bake for about 8 minutes on each side.
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Flipping the breasts once to make sure all the sides are crunchy.
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While the chicken cooks, lets begin making the sauce.
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Begin dicing your onion and garlic into the smallest pieces possible.
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Add the olive oil to a pan and turn up the heat to medium high.
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Add the onions and garlic and let them cook for about 5 minutes.
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Next open the cans of crushed tomatoes, and the tomato sauce and transfer to the pan.
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Add the ketchup next, stirring the sauce to blend everything well.
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Now lets start adding the seasonings: nutmeg, salt, oregano, and chopped up basil.
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Add the cherry tomatoes.
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Stir again and let the sauce simmer on low heat until the chicken is done.
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Remove the chicken from the oven when its done and ladle the sauce over each piece.
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Top with the slice of buffalo mozzarella and bake for another five minutes.
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Garnish with some freshly chopped basil.
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I served this with grilled zucchini that was simply seasoned with sea salt and lots of freshly cracked pepper- grilled in a little olive oil.
