Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers

Greg is back in town and last night I made one of his favorite meals to warmly greet him home. (I know, I am such a good wife!)  This one is adapted from a recipe I found flipping through the pages of Cooking Light magazine.  I used to have a subscription, and I don’t know why I don’t anymore!  The cover of the November 2012 issue caught my eye in the grocery store line a few months back, and I couldn’t resist buying it!  (Those point-of-sale marketing tactics really work…)  It was their 25th anniversary issue, so there were quite a few good recipes in it, but this one quickly was added to our regular rotation. 

Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers adapted from this recipe originally published in Cooking Light. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

salt 

fennel seeds

ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

skinless, boneless chicken breasts

olive oil

cooking spray

thinly sliced red bell pepper

thinly sliced yellow bell pepper

thinly sliced shallots

sprinkle of rosemary

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Here’s how to make it:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add some oil and swirl it around. 

Put together the spice rub – combine ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon fennel seeds, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and oregano.

Gently pat a light layer of the spice rub over the chicken and place chicken in the pan.

While the chicken is browning, prepare the peppers and shallots.  The original recipe calls for two cups of sliced red pepper to one cup of sliced yellow pepper.  I just get one red and one yellow.  I like the contrast of the different flavors. 

 

Also, onions are a perfectly good substitute for the shallots, but I do think the shallots are a little more flavorful.

Once the chicken is browned, transfer to a shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 10 minutes in the oven.

While the chicken is baking, add a bit more oil to the skillet.  Add peppers, shallots, and rosemary to the pan.  Sauté for about 3 minutes.  Then, stir in the broth and scrap up any remaining browned bits from the pan.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Increase the heat to medium-high again and stir in the vinegar, a dash of salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Cook for another 3 minutes, stirring to let the peppers and shallots mixture soak up the flavor.

Serve pepper mixture over chicken.  Serve with a side of mashed potatoes. Buon appetito!