Peachy Balsamic Chicken

My daughter Rachel posted a story about her “nesting instinct” gone wild in the kitchen this week. I am now close to menopause but my husband would swear that I have the strongest nesting instinct of any woman who has ever lived.  And the most quirky one. The thing is,  my nesting instinct is to make a literal ‘pack rat’s nest’ out of our bed.

Every night Greg climbs into bed and  hands me various and sundry items he finds on and under the bedspread. Last night it was a camera. (Before you get the wrong idea: I was posting pics of food on my blog.) There is always the standard computer, books, paper and pen, eye glasses, but other items that have made their way into our bed-nest include, but are not limited to: earrings, scissors, credit cards, clocks, various food stuffs, Legos, lost keys and checks. Greg actually loves to find things: looking for lost golf balls and coins makes him happy. I am sure he was a champion Easter Egg hunter as a little boy. So he rather gets a kick out of what unusual items he finds each night, nestled  among the sheets and blankets.

Last night I was in the bathtub when I heard Greg shout, with a Eureka!-like tone in his voice: “I just found your running shoe under the covers a the bottom of the bed!”

When I happened upon this recipe, a variation of one that Rachael Ray made on her show, I was almost as thrilled as Greg was to find my missing shoe in the bed. It’s definitely a “Eureka!” dish. Very few ingredients, very little time, very inexpensive and the sauce is so scrumptious, you’ll want to eat it with a spoon. I made this twice for two different groups of girlfriends, serving it alongside risotto and a a crisp salad.  They lapped it up!  Another of my best “go-to” recipes, this one yields lots of praise and requests for the recipe, for so little effort on the cook’s part.

Peachy-Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Becky’s Peachy Balsamic Chicken

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

2 T. olive oil
6-7 boneless chicken thighs
grill or steak seasoning (or your favorite seasoned salt)
1/2 c. chicken or vegie broth

1/4 c. aged balsamic vinegar
1/3 c.  peach preserves or jam (or try orange marmalade, cherry or apricot jam/ preserves if you prefer)
1 T. grainy mustard (or hot Chinese mustard)

1/3 c. chopped green onions for garnish

Lightly season both sides of chicken pieces with your favorite seasoned salt. In a hot large skillet with about 2 T. olive oil, saute and brown boneless chicken pieces on high heat until both sides are golden brown and chicken is cooked through. (You may want to turn down heat and cook with a lid on top if the chicken doesn’t get done in the middle, after the searing.) Remove pieces at this stage on to a platter and cover to keep warm.

In same skillet, pour in chicken broth, balsamic vinegar and peach preserves and mustard, stirring to loosen all the good bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium high. When the sauce is reduced and syrupy, add chicken pieces in, coating both sides as you lay them in the sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickened a bit more and chicken is hot. Garnish with chopped green onions. (Apologies — no green onions on hand, so none in this picture.  But they are truly wonderful, so add them if you’ve got them!)

Vegan Variations: This glaze, above, is fabulous drizzled over a dish of roasted butternut squash and walnuts or sauteed tofu. Just sub vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

This was printed from: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook
The site URL: http://welaughwecrywecook.com
The Title: Peachy Balsamic Chicken
The URL: https://welaughwecrywecook.com/2012/05/04/apricot-balsamic-glazed-chicken