Chicken with Balsamic and Garlic Sauce

I'm always blogging about dessert recipes, so I intentionally chose to do a savory entree this week. Unfortunately, I didn't remember till the end of the preparation that this was my CWC meal. You didn't miss much in the way of pictures though. Just raw chicken in a skillet.

I've had this recipe printed for a long time. I got it from Tastespotting long ago. I seriously love that site, but I haven't gone in quite a while. If I'm not careful, I can waste an hour looking at all the yummy food pictures!

Chicken with Balsamic and Garlic Sauce

5 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of
any fat
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter, softened
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 cup of chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large OVEN PROOF skillet over medium high heat. Season the chicken thighs with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Lay the chicken thighs smooth side down in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn the chicken over and place in the oven. Cook for 8 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove chicken from oven and set aside on a platter to rest with a tinfoil tent to keep warm. Return the skillet to the stove over medium high heat (add more olive oil if needed) and add minced garlic. Cook, stirring constantly for 60 seconds then add the balsamic vinegar. Stir, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Mix the butter and flour together making a paste. Whisk in the flour and butter mixture and let the sauce return to a boil. Simmer until the sauce gets thick - about 1-2 minutes. Pour the sauce over chicken and serve. Enjoy.

Ok, so here is the picture of the sauce. You use the same skillet that you cooked the chicken in so you can get all the browned bits.


My finished picture is at the top of the post. Here's the one from the original Tastespotting recipe. The sauce looks thinner, and more brown. Mine had more of a reddish tint.


We have loved eating outside recently. It's been perfect outdoor dining weather. Isn't summer the best?!


This is the first CWC recipe that I really haven't liked. Brent thought it was great, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I thought it tasted salty. We both agreed that it tasted a lot like teriyaki chicken (which I don't like). It's odd it tasted that way though, since there was no soy sauce in it. I know I won't make this again, but if you like that kind of flavor, you probably enjoy this one.

Best part of the dinner - this butterfly that kept landing on Brent's hair. It would just sit there for the longest time while he moved all around and ate. I thought it was so funny!