Roast Chicken Breast Italian

I had a breast of roasted supermarket chicken that was leftover in the fridge the other day and some Italian bread on the counter that nobody was eating. I really detest wasting food, so I did some thinking and came up with this dish. The beauty of it is that it uses things that are on hand (or at least should be!).


1-2 cups cooked, chopped roasted chicken
4-5 cups Italian bread, cubed
¼ cup olive oil, plus 1 tbsp olive oil divided
1/3 cup creamy Italian dressing
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
½ cup chicken stock, low sodium
1 cup chopped, diced onion
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup chopped, diced red bell pepper
1 cup cubed mozzarella or provolone cheese (slices if you don’t have cheese blocks)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Dash salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Add the dry spices to a large bowl and pour in the ¼ cup of olive oil. Mix thoroughly and add the bread cubes, tossing gently to coat. Spread the crumbs out on a large baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the bread is crispy and lightly browned. Removed and let cool.

In a large sauté pan heat a tbsp of oil over medium heat and add the onions and bell pepper. When the onions are soft add the garlic and cook for another minute. Now add the chopped chicken, tomatoes and stock. You may want to re-season with salt and pepper at this point. Reduce the liquid slightly but don’t evaporate, about 10 minutes.

While the chicken and vegetables are heating spread the bread cubes in a large 13” X 9” baking dish and top evenly with the cheese cubes. Pour the chicken and tomatoes over this and drizzle with the salad dressing. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the dish and bake in the 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Remove and serve immediately.

** Note if you are on a low fat diet you can substitute a little chicken stock for the olive oil to coat the bread cubes but take care not to make the bread soggy. You can also buy seasoned bread cubes to cut out baking the bread altogether. Lots of ways to go with this one!