Ok, so I've accidentally cancelled this blog entry 3 times today. What gives? ugh sometimes I just feel like throwing watermelons at the wall. Except I'd have to be the one to clean it up. So instead I'm going to go pour me a cold Diet Coke and try to remain calm. I felt the same way the night I made this dish. Tired, edgy, frustrated. Hungry. So did hubs. But neither of us wanted to eat out of a bag. Yes we do eat out more than I'd like to admit. I wanted to get in and out of the kitchen ya know? Like let's just do this and get it over. Sometimes I feel less than "inspired". I don't always just jump up and down to cook. This was one of those nights. Kinda like today. So we did a 30 min meal. In and out yes mam! So I took a look around and remembered this balsamic recipe I had seen earlier in the week. I thought that looks fast and easy! Plus healthy. So I put my own little spin on it . Oh yeah! Frozen green beans in the freezer. I keep them for nights like that. And healthier than canned. I also spied a box of good ole' Uncle Ben's wild rice. Yes mam. Nothing wrong with Uncle Ben's rice. He's great- Uncle Ben has saved my skin more than once. This is were keeping a well stocked pantry comes in handy Sassybelles! For those lack luster week night meals. It's a must. I'll do a special entry on that later. Right now I'm going to attempt to not void this out for the fourth time when I jump to the ingredients.. but after 3 times I learn so I'm copying and pasting this just in case ! Ha! Of course it won't happen now!
Ingredients
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp. minced garlic or 3 minced cloves
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 lemon squeezed.. about 2 tbsp
2 tbsp Agave Nectar (light)
Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Season well with the salt and pepper. Melt your butter over medium heat then add olive oil. Add the chicken to your skillet and cook until it browns nicely. About 7 mins on each side. Take the chicken out of the pan and cover with foil to keep warm. Add the broth, balsamic vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, and agave to the pan. Cook this for about 5 mins over medium heat. Scrape the drippings with a spatula from the bottom of the pan. Slice your chicken on the bias if so desired and pour the sauce over. I served with my fresh green beans ( recipe soon) and wild rice.
Season your chicken after you rinse it and pat dry. Be sure you spray your sink afterwards with an antibacterial cleaner. Raw chicken carries a lot of germs. I let my sink disinfect the time the product says then rinse. Pays to be safe ya'll! Oh and of course be sure you are washing your hands a LOT before, during and after cooking! I'm OCD about that.
Get your butter in that skillet on medium high heat, and let it melt. Then add your olive oil. Brown your chicken about 7-8 minutes on each side. It will look like this when it's ready. Monitor your skillet for too much heat. Then remove chicken and cover with foil.
Now we are going to make a yummy balsamic reduction. You can use variants on this but this is a basic reduction. Add the broth, the vinegar, lemon ( to taste) garlic and agave to the pan. Let it cook for about 5 minutes. It will reduce down to about half. Scrape the bottom to have the chicken drippings meld with the sauce. If you are using a non stick pan be sure you don't use a metal utensil - it will scratch your skillet. Basics, but some of us need this info. I've done variants on this reduction using peach jam, or raspberry instead of the agave you would skip the lemon juice though! Great over baked pork loin or chops too!
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