Balsamic Tomato Chicken Breast over Pasta

So the other night, I was looking around my kitchen trying to decide what kind of sauce or seasoning I can add to plain, boneless chicken breast. I was originally thinking of using a large can of crushed tomatoes to make a simple, homemade tomato sauce to put over lightly seasoned chicken and some whole wheat pasta, but I didn't have the time or stamina at that point in the evening to start making a tomato sauce from scratch. However, my eye caught a can of diced tomatoes in the pantry and thought, "this seems like a good alternative." I took the tomatoes out, then opened the fridge and stared at the Publix-brand balsamic vinegar. Perfect.

For the sauce:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup grape jelly/jam
3 Tbsp Good spicy mustard (I used Boar's Head; Dijon would work fine, DO NOT use yellow mustard)
3 Tbsp Basil, chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper

Other Ingredients:
1 package boneless chicken breasts
Pasta (I always prefer whole wheat, its up to you)
1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
A few glugs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp Garlic, minced
Salt/Pepper

1. Set up a pot of water to boil for the pasta.
   
2. Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce in one bowl and whisk together until they all mesh into one consistency. Taste check, add some salt and pepper; it should taste mostly like balsamic vinegar but a little thicker and slightly sweeter with a nice aftertaste of basil.
3. Heat up the olive oil on a large pan at medium heat, add the minced garlic and let cook for about 1 minute.
4. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to directions on the box.
   
5. While the garlic is cooking, dunk the chicken breasts in the balsamic sauce one at a time, and add to the pan - SAVE any remaining sauce.
   
6. Let each piece of chicken cook on one side about 3 minutes, flip.
   
7. Add the can of diced tomatoes to the large pan with chicken, raise the heat to medium high, and add the remaining balsamic sauce. Stir everything together, coat the chicken in the tomatoes' au jus (with its own juices). Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper.
8. Allow for some of the excess liquid from the tomatoes to boil away, about 8-10 minutes.
9. Plate pasta with chicken on top; add some of the tomatoes with sauce and you've got yourself dinner!

**It's delicious with a little bit of parmesean cheese on top**