After my recent success with the slow cooker and baking kale, I was on a mission to find another recipe ASAP.
Then, my cubemate (and super trendy/hipster friend) Lizz said she had a recipe that was delicious, sounded gourmet and was easy to make.
In return I said, “I want to go to there.”
The recipe is called: Balsamic Poached Chicken. Whenever I say it, I feel like I should be doing a demo and gabbing with Martha. Because we’re cooking besties.
When I first read through the recipe it sounded a little challenging, but after talking to some friends about my questions, I felt more confident about it.
One friend even asked, “[The recipe] Sounds good, do you have a date or something?”
Sadly, I had to say no, but this is a great dish to make for a date, friend or even family in town. And yes, it was pretty easy.
(Forgive the crappy food styling)
Balsamic Poached Chicken (from Real Simple)
Ingredients:
- 1 pound red potatoes, halved or quartered
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
- 1 14.5-ounce can low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400° F. Place the potatoes in a roasting pan. Drizzle with the oil. Season with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper, and toss. Roast for 30 minutes, shaking the pan once.
- Add the asparagus to the pan with the potatoes, season with the remaining salt, and toss. Roast until the asparagus is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the broth and vinegar to a boil. Add the chicken and, if necessary, enough water (up to 1/2 cup) to cover it. Simmer for 1 minute. Cover, remove from heat, and set aside until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Return the liquid to medium-high heat and simmer until reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 10 minutes.
- Thickly slice the chicken. Divide the ingredients among individual plates. Drizzle with the balsamic mixture.
The verdict: YAY!
The chicken was absolutely delicious and the asparagus was very tasty thanks to the kosher salt and olive oil.
I did mess up the potatoes a little bit because they weren’t as soft as I hoped, but Lizz told to use the broiler to add more color and to cook it on a cookie sheet instead of casserole pan. Good to know for next time.
Sadly, this week I’m traveling for work so I won’t get to do any cooking and I’m actually pretty bummed out. Wait, I cannot believe I just said that. Something must be wrong with me. Me, miss…cooking?
Well I’m off to find another recipe. A slow cooker adventure is in my future :)
What are some of your favorite things to cook?
Oh man. Boyfriend and I cook ALL THE TIME. Seriously, ALL THE TIME.
We get a lot of our recipes from epicurious.com and some of our favorites involve:
- grilling fish (salmon & swordfish) and topping it with lime butter (look it up on epicurious) and pairing it with this badass pairing of snow peas and almonds and butter in a skillet.
- chicken in milk. it’s a jamie oliver recipe that we’ve made like, EIGHT times because it is made of magic and is amazingly easy.
- brussels sprouts slaw with sugared almonds, manchego cheese, salt & pepper, olive oil and lemon juice
- salads that involve beets and goat cheese
Definitely looks yummy and healthy!! I love cooking in general…like King Ranch Chicken casserole or grilled chicken with apples and onions, it’s so good.
YUM. This looks delicious. I love anything with balsamic vinegar so I’m sure this will be no exception. And honestly, I think your food styling is pretty damn good!
Have you tried pulled pork in the slow cooker? It’s so simple and reminds me of summer. Add some coleslaw and it’s summer in Cleveland any time of the year!
See now that is a meal. Nicely done. Chicken is very versatile, which is nice. I love asparagus and red potatoes. But red potatoes, I can never seem to get those quite right. Last time was my 4th or 5th attempt and they still turned out bland, ugh.
yes, yes yes…yes! i am so making this. right after all the other amazing things from real simple. right now i have a mushroom stuffed tenderloin in the oven and i can hardly wait to pull that sucker out and chomp on it. nom nom nom. meeeeaat.
oh this sounds delicious! real simple has some of the best recipes, love it.
OMG that sounds delicious and I can’t wait to make it! I just made the Shredded Chicken Tacos recipes in my slow cooker from Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen – SO GOOD. And super easy. YUM. We made really yummy steak on Monday w/ a grapefruit and avocado salad, and then its spaghetti and sausage tonight!
BTW, definitely take up Erin on her offer of the roasted asparagus recipe. She gave it to me last year and I can vouch for its deliciousness! I think the recipe works for green beans as well.
I’m totally printing this recipe.
You might want to try roasting the potatoes with a little higher heat — maybe 425. Also, as you cook more, you might discover your oven doesn’t cook as hot as someone else’s oven. My Chicago oven cooked about 10 degrees hotter than my current oven.
I’m a big soup freak. Since I have a lot of texture issues, I make a lot of vegetable-based soups and puree the crap out of them. Healthy AND yummy without making me gag. :)
I’m not usually a fan of just a hunk of chicken on my plate, but this does sound good. I have an AWESOME recipe for roasted potatoes and another equally awesome one for roasted asparagus if you’re interested.
I don’t know if I have a *favorite* thing to cook. I do know that I miss eating at home when I travel, though. I get restaurant-ed out really quickly.
Oh oh oh! I have to try that for Mister, that looks amazing, thanks for the tips!
I have to try this one. It sounds delicious, I love balsamic vinegar.
anything with balsamic and I’m in love. this sounds delish! especially since you paired itwith asparagus.
you’re inspiring me again! i don’t think i could pull this one off but the pulled pork was a success. i have an entire book of crockpot recipes so let me know what type of recipe you’re looking for and i’ll send one your way :)
The nice thing about poaching is that by cooking it in a liquid, you help the meat to maintain its moisture level. The even better thing about poaching in something other than water is you’re just injecting that much more flavor into your meat. Nice job!
This definitely sounds like one I’ll try – thanks!
Oh yum! This sounds absolutely mouthwatering! Whenever we have our next at-home date night, I’m making this recipe, so thank you for sharing!
And one of my favorite things to cook is lasagna. It is kind of complicated, but once you have all the parts, it’s absolutely AMAZING.
wow looks great – i’m totally going to make this. i cook a lot of stuff, but mostly once or twice and then give up. my favorite recipes to make are my mom & grandmother’s, though. soups and homemade sauces. yum!
I just emailed you a small fortune of crockpot recipes. Hope you enjoy!
Ok you have convinced me, I need to buy a slow cooker like asap.
Wooohooo, the recipe looks great. I say it’s a success. What are you gonna make in the future? Do you like fried rice? I heard it’s relatively easy to make. The indos love it and eat it all the time :)
ummm this looks AMAZING. i am obsessed with all dishes featuring balsamic vinegar. way to go!
my favorite things to cook are roasted veggies and cilantro-lime shrimp :)
I adore the fact that you are cooking! Go Jess! Its not nearly so scary once you just jump in and tackle it. One of my favorite things to cook is Rebecca C’s goulash and her spatchcocked chicken. I am also a fan of Maris’s blog.