"Hmm, I could really go for some Balsamic Chicken," I thought to myself one day as I quickly looked through my kitchen to see what ingredients I had on hand. I didn't have what I needed for my Pomegranate Balsamic Chicken but I had enough to hopefully make something delicious. I also only had a pack of bone-in split chicken breasts and drumsticks so I knew my typical method of cooking on the stove top wasn't going to work. Lo and behold, this recipe was born and it was so incredibly delicious. The fresh lime at the end adds a subtle zing that I loved. Isabelle, my almost 2 year old, also couldn't stop asking for more.
BALSAMIC LIME ROASTED CHICKEN
Recipe Ingredients
About 4 lbs of bone-in chicken pieces (I used 2 split breasts and 4 drumsticks)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TSP salt
1 TSP pepper
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
Chopped fresh basil, to garnish
Recipe Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Prepare marinade by whisking together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary.
- In a large baking dish or roasting pan, add your chicken pieces. Pour marinade over chicken and toss to coat.
- Roast the chicken uncovered for about 45 minutes, until just cooked through.
- Carefully transfer the chicken to a clean plate and again, very carefully pour the remaining cooking liquid left in the pan into a small saucepan. If you have a lot of excess oil, you'll want to skim from the top.
- Add in the juice from one lime and boil until the sauce reduces by about half and thickens to coat the back of a spoon. This can take about 6-8 minutes.
- Pour the balsamic lime reduction over the chicken and sprinkle with fresh basil.
Enjoy!
Until next time,
SMP
This Blackbery Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe came about by accident. Or was it fate? My local grocery store had organic blackberries for 50% off because they were nearing their end of life. I scooped up two packages at $2.50 each and felt like I stole something.
I had seen somewhere about making a blackberry balsamic reduction so I started doing that with my half priced beauties. Once it was done, I thought it needed a little bit more life, so I started adding lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Yummy. Then I thought - I should totally make this into a dressing! So I pureed the reduction with light tasting olive oil until it was the consistency I was looking for. It still needed a little something so I looked around my kitchen and my basil plant caught my eye - yes, this needed a fresh herb! So I threw in some basil leaves and pureed it again. Delicious. Next time, I will just chop the fresh basil and stir it in. I think seeing the green specks would be pretty!
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that yesterday, I topped my salad with the vinaigrette and this morning I topped my sweet potato hash and eggs with it. I think this would be delicious on meat, seafood, eggs, salad greens, veggies...anything really!
Side Note: Less than a week until I complete my Whole100! Woohoo!
Blackberry Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
Recipe Ingredients:
6 oz package of blackberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Zest of one lemon
Juice from 1/2 lemon
3/4 cup light tasting olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
8-10 fresh basil leaves
Recipe Directions:
1. Add blackberries and balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan. Smash the blackberries with a fork. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer, and let simmer for about 8-10 minutes or until reduced by half.
2. Add blackberry balsamic reduction to a food processor or blender and add remaining ingredients on the list, except for the fresh basil. Blend until well combined.
3. Chop up the fresh basil and stir it in to the vinaigrette.
Enjoy!
XOXO,
SMP
I love balsamic chicken. Its bold flavor always makes my taste buds sing. I decided to switch things up this week and add some subtle sweetness to my recipe from 100% pomegranate juice and the results did not disappoint. The reduction that forms while these boneless chicken thighs simmer on the stove is both tangy and slightly sweet - and 100% delicious.
POMEGRANATE BALSAMIC CHICKEN THIGHS RECIPE
Recipe Ingredients
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup 100% pomegranate juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TSP salt
1 TSP pepper
1 TSP dried rosemary
Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
Recipe Directions
- Prepare marinade: In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, pomegranate juice, balsamic vinegar, and dijon mustard. Add in fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and dried rosemary.
- Add the 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs to the bowl with the marinade and toss to coat. Let sit for at least 15 minutes. If you've got the time, let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight.
- Heat a cooking pan on the stove top over medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot, pour the whole bowl of chicken and marinade into the pan. Spread out the pieces evenly.
- Let chicken simmer, UNCOVERED, flipping every 5 minutes or so, until done. It's important not to cover the pan, since that will increase the moisture and not allow the sauce to fully reduce at the end.
- After the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes, remove the chicken and put it on a plate.
- Skim the fat from the reduction that has most likely formed in the pan. If the sauce is not thick, let it simmer for a few more minutes stirring constantly.
- Pour reduction over plated chicken, garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!
This dish cooks quickly on the stove top because I choose to use boneless chicken thighs. If you're using bone-in, I would recommend baking at 375 for 1 hour. Then skim the fat and reduce the pan drippings on the stove top for about 7-8 minutes until the reduction forms.
Until next time!
SMP
So I was supposed to be blogging more frequently and we were supposed to be doing a Whole30, but it's been almost a month since my last post and I'm ashamed to admit that we did not stay 100% compliant on our 2nd Whole30 journey. SHAME ON US! I can try to come up with a couple of good excuses for why we decided to give in to some temptations, but I'm not going to do that. What good would that do anyone? Nobody forced less healthy foods down our throat - we made a decision to indulge and that's it. I'm not proud of our choices, but we can't take them back. We can just move forward.
We have been busy with work, holiday shopping, and lots of babies! Over the last few weeks, I welcomed three new babies into the world!
First was Baby Ethan, first son to my best friend Vivian:
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| We had been praying for this little guy for almost 5 years! But God knows everything and His timing is perfect! |
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Then there was my adorable new little
niece, Baby Talia, who decided to come into the world during a Monday
Night Football game, while her parents and big brother were still in the stands!
Crazy
story, let me tell you!
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| Another little princess for our family! |
And later on that same day, my college friend Julissa gave birth to her first son, Baby Amaury! I'm actually going to drive to NJ tomorrow to meet him! So many babies, so much love!
Anyway, while I did admit that we failed during our second Whole30s, I do have to say that we still had some wonderful Whole30 meals. The last month was NOT a complete waste - I promise! Here are some pics to prove it:
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| Veggie Medley before getting roasted at 400 degrees for 30 mins |
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| Thai Basil Beef (From It Starts with Food) and a fried egg |
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| 2 fried eggs with ground cumin and sweet plantains |
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| quick snack: banana + cashew butter |
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| Garlic Chicken + Lemon Roasted Broccoli over mixed greens |
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| Our go-to 'taco' salad - this time with a dollop of homemade avocado dressing |
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| Organic, grass fed rib eyes with roasted acorn squash and baked sweet potatoes |
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| Veggie Medley getting sauteed in cast iron pan instead of roasted |
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| The veggies above with some baked garlic chicken and potatoes |
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| Curry Beef Skillet - inspired by recipe in It Starts With Food |
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| Scrambled eggs with fresh homemade salsa and organic bacon |
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| Baked garlic chicken wings over mixed greens and tostones |
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| This special meal was prepared by my mother in law while I was up in Boston traveling for work! |
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| Brussels + pecans + cranberries + roasted chicken breast + balsamic vinegar |
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| Who knew roasted cabbage could be so good? Just EVOO + salt + pepper |
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| Moroccan Sweet Potato Hash - Recipe Coming Soon! |
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| Pineapple Curry Ground Beef Skillet - Recipe Coming Soon! |
I really do want to continue on this path to optimal health, and I know that the only way to do that is to keep committed to eating a clean, whole foods diet and staying active.
AND
I really do want to look and feel my best when we celebrate our anniversary in sunny Puerto Rico a month from today!
Keep me in your thoughts and prayers - I need the extra help! :)
XOXO,
SMP
I know I'm very late, but this week I finally jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon. It has been both the BEST and WORST thing that has happened to me! I have become seriously addicted and I have about 20,000 recipes that I would like to try. Based on the ingredients I had on hand, I decided to try this one:
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| The original name for this recipe is Man-pleasing Chicken, but I'm changing it to Maple Dijon Balsamic Glazed Chicken |
I made a few adjustments based on what I had available, so here is my rendition of this recipe:
INGREDIENTS
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| 3 Bell Peppers, Large Pack of Drumsticks, Pure Maple Syrup (NOT PANCAKE SYRUP!), Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar, Stone Ground Dijon Mustard, Salt and Pepper. Super simple right? |
I began by preheating the oven to 450 degrees, foiling two trays (for easy cleanup), spraying with cooking spray, and chopping the bell peppers into strips:
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| The original recipe did not call for this, but I wanted to bulk it up. The peppers ended up being my favorite part of the dish! |
After slicing into each drumstick (for faster cooking and flavor penetration), I added them to the tray, followed by a liberal dose of salt and pepper:
Next up, the glaze:
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| 3/4 cup of dijon mustard, 3 tbsp of balsamic, 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup |
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With the amount of chicken I had, I probably should have tripled the original recipe for the glaze. However, I didn't have enough dijon mustard, so I just added what was left in the bottle.
Then I added the glaze to the chicken and tossed to coat:
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| Ready for the oven! |
Once the chicken was in the hot oven, I picked and washed some fresh herbs from my garden, and prepped some mixed greens:
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| Fresh rosemary, parsley and mixed greens! |
After about 20 minutes, I decided to check on the drumsticks and baste:
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| After 20 minutes and some basting |
After an additional 25-30 minutes of cooking time, my drumsticks were ready!
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| I let sit for about 5 minutes, garnished with the fresh herbs and then plated my dinner |
Here's my plate!
The Verdict:
The chicken was really good. As I mentioned earlier, I had A LOT of chicken, so I should have tripled the original recipe for the glaze. The flavor was all there, but it would have been even better with a little more strength. It was nice and sweet, but I think I would have liked a little spice. Maybe next time I will add a few crushed red pepper flakes or something like that. That might turn things up a notch! I definitely will make this again and again. OH and you MUST add the bell peppers. They were honestly the best part of the dish! They were so sweet and filled with the glaze flavor. I would even consider adding more peppers - they were that good! And something tells me that the leftovers will be even tastier tomorrow! Can't wait!
Thank you Pinterest!!!
XOXO,
SMP
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