Marinated Chicken Breasts

With a package of chicken breasts in the refrigerator to use, I went on the internet to find some new recipes.  On the FoodNetwork.com site, I searched for chicken breast recipes and found several that were interesting, so I printed several to try.

The one I chose for dinner was the simplest and the recipe where I already had everything on hand: Marinated Chicken Breasts.  The recipe is quite open to variations in the ingredients and into a gallon sized Ziploc bag I added two-tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, two-tablespoons of Monastery Mustard (Deli Garlic Dill), three-tablespoons of grape seed oil, 1/4-teaspoon of poultry seasoning, and 1/2-teaspoon of dried thyme.  I mixed all the ingredients together by kneading the bag to get everything thoroughly mixed.

The recipe called for using four chicken breasts, but after I put in four, I found there was plenty of marinade left, so I added all seven chicken breasts from the package.  I sealed the bag and squished the chicken into the marinade so all the chicken was coated.  I placed the bag of chicken into the refrigerator to marinate for the roughly three hours until dinner.

When it was time to make dinner, I turned on the oven to convection mode at 375 degrees and placed three of the chicken pieces into the broiler pan.  I placed remainder of the chicken (in the Ziploc bag) into the freezer as the recipe says you can keep it frozen for up to two weeks.  I baked the chicken breasts on the middle rack in the oven for 12 minutes, then inserted the temperature probe and monitored the cooking progress.

When the internal temperature was over 150 degrees, I removed the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest for five minutes to allow the carry-over heat to continue cooking the inside of the chicken.  I wanted to make sure I didn’t overcook the chicken breast again (see Vinegar Glossed Chicken).

We had a great dinner with the marinated chicken breast, sautéed mushrooms, buttered brown rice, cooked green beans, and tomato slices.  The chicken was very moist and had an excellent flavor with the balsamic vinegar and thyme.

This was very easy to make and took very little preparation time.  When I cook the remainder of the chicken pieces, I may wait for a nice day so I can grill them on the BBQ.

Find the recipe at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/marinated-chicken-breasts-recipe/index.html

Adventures In Food: Author: Kerry Howell