(Chicken) Meat and Potatoes...

This is a dinner I like to throw together in a pinch, as I usually have all the ingredients on hand. I usually like a lot of sauce/tomatoes with the chicken, so I make the recipe as is, but reduce the number of chicken breasts to just four. I also add a little brown sugar to the sauce to tone down the tang from the balsamic vinegar just a little bit. I'm not sure if you are supposed to drain the can of diced tomatoes or not, but I usually don't so at the end I make the sauce into a balsamic reduction.

I usually like to serve this with mashed potatoes, but tonight I decided to try a scalloped potatoes recipe I found in the November issue of Southern Living. These scalloped potatoes were so good! I only made a few changes, indicated below. The only other change I think I will make next time is I will probably substitute all of the cream with evaporated milk to make it a bit healthier.

Braised Balsamic Chicken
from Allrecipes.com


6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I only use 4)
ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced (I omit this)
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
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch

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.

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. I usually remove the chicken and tomatoes and then add the brown sugar and cornstarch to the balsamic liquid and simmer until reduced.


Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes
from Southern Living


1/4 cup butter
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3 cups whipping cream (I used 1-1/2 cups whipping cream, 1-1/2 cups evaporated milk)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I used 4 tsp dried parsley)
1/2 cup (2 oz.) grated Parmesan cheese (I used 3/4 cup)


Preheat oven to 400°F.

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in potatoes and next 5 ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring gently, 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack, and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings