Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (I make homemade)

2 tbs flour

3 eggs

1/2 yellow onion (chopped fine)

1 tbs garlic (minced)

4 tbs Olive oil

1 tsp oregano

basil

20 small pepperonis ( I bake mine on a cookie rack that is on top of a cookie sheet, before I start cooking to catch excess grease)

1 can pizza sauce (about a cup)

10-15 cherry tomatoes

8 oz fresh mozzarella (thin sliced into rounds)

1 tbs Italian seasoning

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp sugar

Directions: Beat the chicken breast with a mallet until about 1/4 of an inch thick. Slice down the side, still leaving it attached on one side. Put two small slices of mozzarella in the chicken and cover with the other side of the chicken, almost like opening and closing a book. Repeat on all chicken and then sprinkle salt and pepper. Dip the chicken breast in egg and then into the bread crumbs. Repeat until all the chicken has been coated.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat up olive oil and butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Place one chicken breast at a time into the pan to brown on each side. about 3 min per side, it should be a golden brown. Remove and set aside, onto a cookie sheet. Place in oven for 15 min. While the chicken is baking, pour left over olive oil into the skillet with the onion and garlic. The heat should be between low-medium. Stir until translucent, about 5 min. Add in the whole cherry tomatoes. stir around until they start to soften for about 3/5 min. You should be able to push each tomato down with your spoon to squish them down a bit. Pour in your pizza sauce and the rest of the ingredients, sugar, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Let simmer for 10 min.

Remove the chicken from the oven after the 15 minutes and add them to the sauce. Spoon some of the sauce onto each chicken breast. Add any remaining mozzarella on top of the chicken. Scatter the pepperonis on top as well. Keep in the cast iron skillet, place back in oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and eat it up!