Pesto Chicken Bruschetta

I had this idea the other day based on a pesto chicken stuffed shell dish I made a while back. What if I took some shredded pesto chicken and added it to bruschetta? I absolutely love bruschetta, so why not make a meal out of it by adding some protein? 

I started by simply boiling some chicken breasts. I boiled about a pound of chicken and placed it in my KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment. Did you know that if you put cooked chicken in the mixer with the paddle attachment it will shred the chicken for you? No? It's super simple and takes about all of one minute.

While the chicken was still warm and shredded, I added about 3 heaping tablespoons of pre made basil pesto sauce to the pound of shredded chicken. You can add more, but I wanted to control the amount of oil I was adding. Because the chicken was still warm, it absorbed all of the yummy goodness here.

I then took a few slices of seven grain bread and spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese on top. I love ricotta, and if I were making pesto chicken stuffed shells, I'd add the ricotta right to the shredded chicken (along with a few other cheeses before stuffing the shells).

I then added a layer of the shredded chicken on top of the ricotta. I'd say I added about two tablespoons of chicken here. Not a ton, but enough to give me some great flavor and protein.

Finally, I topped the bread with some tomatoes I had marinading in some white balsamic vinegar, which adds a nice tang and contrast against the creamy ricotta and herby-pesto chicken. I used about five plum tomatoes for my dinner, but I like a heavy hand on the tomatoes. I had three nice slices of this for dinner last night and was very satisfied. It was the perfect dinner to kick off summer.