Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Baked Garlic Honey Balsamic Chicken



 Do you ever get an idea in your head and it is relentless and won't go away??  Yeah, that is how this chicken came upon me.  I say it like that because I was consumed with the idea.  Up at night, calculating how I was going to make this.  I had the chicken, but it was frozen solid and I had to wait a day.  UGH~ We all know waiting is not my strong suit.  I know God is trying to teach me in this matter because every time I go to the store I pick the slowest line.  At Sam's the other day, I watched as the people in lines around me breezed through, who had gotten in their line well after I had gotten in mine, as my little cashier lady mashed my paper towels to make them fit, and put a gash in my sugar as she tossed it into my cart.  30 minutes in line, 15 of that were me!  Seriously?? 

Ok...  I might have gotten lost on that topic for awhile but I have to get back to this chicken because it was gooood!  and easy.  We all loved it.  I served it with brown rice and drizzled the sauce over the rice.  I also put some over the chicken after it was deboned.  We also had some steamed green beans that I splashed with some balsamic, olive oil, garlic and salt.  Mr. Delectable said they were the best beans he had ever had.  I don't know if I would got that far, but they were perfect with this chicken. 

Got a little tidbit to share too...  ever had fresh garlic turn green or turquoise while cooking?  I got the scoop.  It is immature garlic, and when it hits acid (i.e.- vinegar, lemon juice, etc.), forms a kind of chlorophyll.  Perfectly safe to eat, and adds a bit of funk to a dish.  Yeah, I took the foil off and saw bright green all over my chicken.   Almost thought it was parsley, until I realized I did not use parsley.  So, now I know and so do you.  Young garlic+acid=green.
Anyway, put this on the menu.  It's a keeper!

BAKED GARLIC HONEY BALSAMIC CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 3 TBSP balsamic vinegar
  • 5 TBSP honey, divided use
  • 1/2 tsp. thyme
  • 1/4 tsp. marjoram
  • salt and pepper
  •  8 cloves garlic
  • 1-2 lbs chicken, bone in, skin on
DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together the oil, balsamic vinegar and 3 TBSP of honey. Add the herbs and some salt and pepper.   Put chicken in a ziploc and dump the honey balsamic in.  Let it soak in that for at least an hour, but more if you can. 
Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and dump in the chicken and the sauce.  Drizzle remaining 2 TBSP of honey over the chicken and 4-5 crushed garlic.  Put the other cloves in whole or halved.  Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on how big your chicken pieces are).  Uncover and return to oven until a deep golden brown and skin is crispy (about another 25-30 minutes). 

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