Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms

This is one of the best chicken recipes I've ever made OR tasted!  It's from AllRecipes and is definitely a winner.  My husband and I both agreed it's something we'd order repeatedly in a favorite restaurant.  I chose it just because it's fairly healthy and looked easy enough for a weeknight dinner.  While I expected it to be good, I didn't think it would be THIS good.  It reminds me of a good Chicken Marsala.  The flavors all marry together perfectly.  It tastes rich, savory, and bright, with a great tang from the vinegar, but it isn't sour.  Whoever created this recipe knew what they were doing!  My only change was to increase the flour to 4 Tbsp so I'd have enough to evenly coat the chicken, and I think that was a good call.  Regardless, I will make this recipe again and again.

 

 

Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms

 

4 chicken breast cutlets (you can cut 2 large chicken breasts in half down the middle), about 1 1/2 lbs

1/4 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

3/4 lbs mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini)

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1/4 C balsamic vinegar

3/4 C chicken broth

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp butter
 

In a gallon Ziploc bag, mix together flour, salt, and pepper.  Set aside.  Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on both sides of the chicken cutlets.  Add to the bag, seal it, and shake to coat evenly.
  

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet.  Add chicken cutlets (discard extra flour) and cook until golden and beginning to brown on the bottom, then turn them over.  Add garlic and mushrooms to the spaces around the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to shrink and soften, about 5 minutes.  Add vinegar, broth, thyme, and bay leaf to skillet, cover, and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 10 minutes.
  

Remove chicken from skillet, cover with foil, and place in an oven set to warm.  Raise heat of stove to medium-high and cook until the sauce has reduced nicely, about 7 minutes.  Stir in the tablespoon of butter.  Serve sauce and mushrooms over chicken.
  

Yield: 4 servings