Braised Balsamic Chicken

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/braised-balsamic-chicken/detail.aspx

I liked this recipe for two reasons.  I love balsamic vinegar and wanted to add more than the usual “dash” on my salad.  I also like red sauces on white meat so I can have red wine with it.  The first excuse worked, the second…not so much.

Balsamic, per Chief Bushman, is “spoiled wine”…one more thing this Chef 101 should have considered.  Pairing spoiled wine with unspoiled wine = super tangy.  Next time, and there will be a next time for this dish as it was yummy, I’ll be pairing it with a martini or a gin and tonic!

The only changes I would make to the recipe below is to add mushrooms and black olives.  The mushrooms are my daughter’s favorite add-in, the black olives came to me as we ate this with a sourdough bread that had black olives in it.  When I dipped the bread in the sauce I just wanted more of it.  We paired this dish with buttered noodles on the side for the kid; unbuttered noodles underneath the chicken and sauce for us.

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.