Best chicken I've had in a while

The weekends are my time to try new things. Whether that is a new town, a new market, a new cheese, or a new recipe- this is when we do it. I know a lot of people are too busy on the weekends to try a new recipe. For me, I never know what time John will be home during the week so it makes it difficult to try something new especially when it takes a lot of prep work.

This past Sunday, I enlisted the help of my wonderful Sous Chef- John Patrick- to aid me in the prep of a new dish. Turns out, it was one of the simplest recipes we have made in a while. The most difficult and time consuming part- chopping the onion. If that is the worst part of a recipe, I think I can handle it.





Braised Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

1. Season chicken breasts with ground black pepper and garlic salt. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet, and brown the onion and seasoned chicken breasts.
2. Pour tomatoes and balsamic vinegar over chicken, and season with basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes.

This is the original recipe from allrecipes. I happen to love this site if I am looking for a "homey" type recipe. Not always the place to find healthy options, but this recipe was a major find! The few changes that I made were: sprinkling both sides of the chicken with black pepper and dried garlic ( Here they have a great dried garlic that is in pieces about the size of a rough grind black pepper. Works fantastic on just about everything and has a TON of flavor, unlike garlic powder in my opinion.), cutting the balsamic down to a 1/3 cup, and using a can of whole, peeled tomatoes instead of diced. (John chopped these up for me. Love him. ) Served over some pasta and some sauteed zucchini on the side, this was a major hit for both of us. Rich bold flavor from the balsamic vinegar and the wonderful coloring makes this simple dish look like it should be in a restaurant. Try it, you'll like it. :-)