Honey Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Summer Tomatoes

Well well...it has been a while since I did a recipe post.  Makes sense, I guess, because it's been a while since I made a decent dinner, yet alone one worth blogging about.  I mean, I can place a pretty mean Chinese delivery order, but that's not necessarily blog-worthy.  It's just that dinnertime is HARD.  I don't know what it is about dinnertime that makes children lose their damn minds, but 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. is hands-down the most stressful, chaotic and insane time of the day for everyone at our house.  Is it like that for you too or are we alone in our misery?  I think it's a combination of a number of factors: (1) Ryan and I are getting home from work and the kids are extra excited to see us and want our full attention; (2) they have extra energy because they just woke up from their naps; (3) we're trying to get food cut, chopped, prepped and cooked (with hot burners and sharp knives) and the kids are not involved and want to go outside; (4) everyone is hungry and crabby and short on patience; and (5) my kids are crazy.  It's no wonder that this is also the time of night that the cocktails start flowing...you may call it happy hour, but we call it survival.

So, obviously I'm all about any recipe that is quick, easy, healthy and tastes good.  It's really hard to find one that fits all of those categories, so this recipe is a keeper.  It's only a few ingredients (most of which you'll have on hand), requires no vegetable chopping (that's for you, Jessica), takes only 15 minutes to make (start to finish) and is healthy, light and delicious.  I am not kidding, you guys.  This is like the holy grail of weeknight entrees.  And it's perfect for summer.  Mainly because you can easily adapt this to cook entirely on the grill (so you don't heat up the house) and if you know anyone with a garden, they are going to be giving tomatoes away by the bucket-load really soon.  Plus, it's really light and refreshing and can be paired easily with a salad or some mixed veggies for a full meal.  This is a winner, I'm telling you.   

First thing you want to do is roast the tomatoes.  Combine the tomatoes, honey, balsamic and olive oil together in a bowl and then roast the tomato mixture in the oven or on the grill.  I'm kinda ballparking the measurements of the tomato mixture below - I usually wing it and throw in as much as I want of each, depending on how I'm feeling. If you're using balsamic dressing, you can cut back on the olive oil.  If you're using straight balsamic vinegar, add the full amount below.  Feel free to add more honey, if you like a sweeter mixture.  And play with it, if you want - add some garlic, throw in some fresh basil leaves, add a little lemon juice.  Whatever.  But make sure to roast the tomato mixture in the oven or on the grill - the roasting gives the mixture such a richer flavor.  You can cook the tomatoes in a skillet if you need to, but you lose a bit of that smoky, roasted goodness.  Cook until the tomato skins burst and they're all wrinkled (10-15 minutes).  Stir once if you want. 

While your tomatoes are roasting, throw the chicken breasts in a skillet or on the grill to cook.  I usually pound them out before cooking so they're not so thick that they take 45 minutes to cook.  Ain't no one got time for that.  All you need is a little salt and pepper for seasoning.  I love cooking the chicken in a cast iron pan with a little bit of olive oil, just to get a little bit of a crispy texture on the chicken, but you can cook it however you want.  Bake it, saute it, grill it...doesn't matter.  Cooking the chicken is the easy part.  And then when it's done, spoon the tomato mixture right on top!  THAT'S IT.  IT'S DONE.  And it's perfection.  At this point (if you just had to mess with it...like I always have to do with any recipe), you could also drizzle some of that balsamic glaze (I love that stuff...and that's NOT an affiliate link or anything) on the chicken or top with a slice of fresh mozzarella.  Mmmmm...

Ingredients:

2 pints grape tomatoes

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (or 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar)

2 teaspoons salt, divided

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or use BBQ grill)

2. Combine tomatoes, honey, olive oil and balsamic in a small bowl; place tomato mixture on a foil-lined cookie sheet (or create foil pouch for grill). 

3. Bake tomato mixture at 450° (or put on grill) for about 10 minutes or until tomato skins burst and/or wrinkle. Transfer mixture to a bowl, scraping juices into bowl. Stir 1 teaspoon salt into mixture.

4. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and the black pepper.

5. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan (coated with non-stick spray) or on grill until cooked throughout (165 degrees). 

6. Place chicken on individual plates and spoon tomato mixture evenly over chicken.  Enjoy!

 So, I hope you try this!  

I hope you love it as much as I do.  

And I hope it helps makes you dinnertime slightly less insane.  

No promises.