May 10, 2012

What was for dinner last night? Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms

website: http://www.food.com/recipe/balsamic-chicken-and-mushrooms-54726

picture:

Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms with Steamed Rice and Kale

The Differences: I used One and a half pounds of chicken instead of two pounds, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar instead of three tablespoons, I used one tablespoon of HONEY mustard instead of dijon mustard, I used two cloves of minced garlic, and one tablespoon of olive oil to cook the chicken instead of vegetable oil. I also used a half cup of chicken broth. In terms of the cooking I didn't change anything except I put all of the oil into the pan before I cooked the chicken instead of putting half in before the chicken and the other half into a hot pan right before the mushrooms (that seemed like a weird instruction to me).

The Prep: This recipe went faster than I expected... in fact I undercooked the rice because everything else was done so fast. So basically, it takes 5 minutes to mix the vinegar, mustard, and garlic and to dip the chicken into it and get it into the pan. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes, turn it and cook it 3 minutes more. Remove it from the pan and drop the mushrooms in, cooking them for 2 minutes, then add the broth and the thyme, and cook an additional 3 minutes or until deep brown. While you are messing with all of this you should be cooking your rice and whatever veggie you choose to use. When the mushrooms are done you are done... It takes about 20 minutes to cook and prep the chicken and the mushrooms. It was really fast, felt like I was on Chopped!

The Cost Breakdown:
Chicken: $4.49
Mushrooms: $2.19
Kale: $1.99

I did not include the cost of the balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic, olive oil, or thyme as they are pantry items and I had all of them on hand. I also did not include the price of the chicken broth or the white rice as I had both of those things on hand, this time. That may not be the case next time.

Total: $8.67 or $2.17 per person for a family of four

The Verdict: Oh my gosh, the chicken was pretty good, nice and moist. The mushrooms (cause I am a mushroom lover) were fan-fricking-tastic! Sooooo yummy! Also, I had never had kale and it was extremely yummy as well. Erik told me its a good source of Vitamin A (good for eyeballs) so I thought I would pass that information along. Erik really liked it too! The reason I am mentioning that is because Erik HATES mushrooms (like with an undying passion). So how did I get him to like it you ask? I didn't, I made sure that no ACTUAL mushrooms were on his plate but I did put the sauce onto his chicken and he thought it tasted really good. After the crockpot fiasco the night before it was really nice for him to really like something that I was totally expecting him to hate and refuse to eat.  YAY! So happy! I highly recommend this recipe, especially if you like chicken with a slightly Asian taste to it. And at a little over $2 you just can't beat that price, know what I mean? =) See you tomorrow!