Balsamic Marinated Chicken & Potatoes

Most of you know that I work full time outside of our home.  Since my husband also works full time, and we have a commitment to eating from-scratch, home cooked meals, dinner time takes some serious forethought. 

If we didn’t think ahead, menu plan, make to-do lists for meals, and effectively plan our grocery trips, we’d end up eating less wholesome and balanced meals, and likely spend more on groceries too. 

One struggle I continue to run into is meals that don’t take a long time to prep at night.  Monday nights, and often Fridays too, I am at work until after 5pm, so coming home to just start cooking dinner after a long day or week is something even I don’t entirely look forward to.  We’ve been using our crockpot a lot, but sometimes I just don’t feel like a crockpot meal. 

This balsamic chicken and potatoes recipe caught my attention as one I could easily prep in the morning, toss in the oven when I get home and actually do other things while dinner makes itself.  It was a hit. 

Balsamic Marinated Chicken & Potatoes – Adapted from Peanut Butter & Peppers

Ingredients

• 2-4 Chicken breasts
• 8 small red potatoes
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 4 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 T spicy brown mustard
• salt & pepper

Directions

Begin by mixing together 1 T olive oil, 1 T spicy brown mustard, 4 T balsamic vinegar and 1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning.  Set aside. 

Wash and chop red potatoes into 2-inch cubes.  Place in an airtight container.  Drizzle half of the balsamic mixture over the top of the potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Then, cover and shake to coat.  Refrigerate until ready to bake. 

Place the chicken in your oven-save glass baking dish.  Drizzle the remaining balsamic sauce over the top.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.  The original recipe recommended 4 hours, but mine was in the fridge marinating for more like 6-7 hours. 

Remove the chicken dish from the refrigerator and place it in the oven (cold).  Turn on your oven to 375 degrees.  Cover the chicken with tinfoil or a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, arrange the potatoes on a well greased cookie sheet, and place them in the oven too (covered) for 20 minutes.  Stir these after 10 minutes. 

After 20 minutes, remove the covers from the potatoes and chicken.  Stir the potatoes and flip them over.  Continue baking for another 20-25 minutes, until the chicken reaches 180 degrees and the potatoes are crispy.   

Serve warm.  Enjoy!