Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar, Garlic and Mushrooms

It's easy to gravitate towards the same, simple chicken dish week after week. For me, it's my chicken parmesan which I now have down to a fine science. But I am always looking for something new and different to challenge myself in the kitchen and to serve guests. 

A while ago, I found this recipe online and the first thing I loved about it was that I had all the ingredients on hand (the number one reason I make a recipe!). I was serving this for company, so I liked that it was something that I could mostly make ahead and with the exception of thickening the sauce near the end, it was a dish I could put in the over and still spend time with my guests. The balsamic vinegar thickened nicely and created a really nice "gravy" type sauce, presentation-wise it looked great and it tasted good, too! 

What chicken recipes do you gravitate towards?

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme

Directions

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and saute chicken until it is nicely browned on both sides
• Remove the chicken and put in a single layer in an oven-safe dish
• In the skillet, add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Add the vinegar, broth, bay leaf, garlic and thyme. 
• Pour over chicken and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes
• Transfer chicken to a warm serving platter and cover with foil.
• On an element, simmer the sauce over medium high heat, slowly adding flour and whisking slowly until sauce begins to thicken.
• Discard the bay leaf and pour mushroom sauce over chicken and serve

Download printable recipe

Recipe adapted from www.allrecipes.com