Balsamic Chicken

Mason bought balsamic vinegar about a year ago. He is in love with the stuff. I personally do not like it. I'm not a big fan of vinegar, this one included. Anyways I told him that didn't know of too many recipes that included balsamic vinegar. The other night I needed something to cook and I came across the unopened balsamic vinegar in our pantry. I decided to finally use it and so I looked online for a recipe and found this.


Ingredients
      1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
   1/2 cup chicken broth
   2 tablespoons white sugar
   1 clove garlic, minced
   1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
   4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
   1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions
1. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, sugar, garlic, and Italian seasoning in a bowl, place the chicken breasts in the marinade, and marinate for 10 minutes on each side.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve the marinade. Place the chicken in the heated pan and cook until they start to brown and are no longer pink inside, about 7 minutes per side. Pour the marinade into the skillet, and cook until it thickens slightly, turning the chicken breasts over once or twice, about 5 minutes.


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Balsamic-Chicken/Detail.aspx?prop31=3


Both Mason and I loved the chicken. It was very flavorful and it wasn't too vinegary for me. I did make some changes, I prepare two marinates, one for the chicken that I let marinate in a ziplock bag for 2 hours instead of 20 minutes, and then another for when I was cooking the chicken. I also added chopped red onions to the pan at the end.

The chicken paired amazing well with Pasta Roni's Garlic and Olive Oil Vermicelli.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole

This is a recipe that I created the other day. Whenever I experiment I make Mason try the food first. Surprisingly this recipe turned out. Since this was experimental, the measurements are suggestions and based on rough guesses. Feel free to make changes :)

2 pieces of chicken (I used Tyson's frozen chicken that was already preseasoned with garlic and other seasonings)
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup chopped onions
9 oz of bowtie noodles
1 & 1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plain cream cheese
2 Tablespoons of basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach (or I think that broccoli would be a good substitute if you don't like spinach)
1/2 cup peas

Defrost chicken. In a large saucepan combine chicken broth, olive oil, garlic, and onions. When chicken is no longer frozen, put in saucepan (containing the chicken broth, etc.) and cook on medium.

In a pot, cook noodles. When noodles are cooked, drain and set to the side to cool.

In a 9x13 glass pan, combine sour cream, cream cheese, basil, mozzarella, parmesan, spinach (unthawed and squeezed dry), and peas. Mix thoroughly. Add noodles and continue to mix. When the chicken is cooked all the way, cut up and add to noodles and cream mixture in the 9x13. I also like to add the cooked onions and garlic, but not the juice.

Mix all together and the put in the oven on 350 for 20 minutes. Halfway through stir everything. After the 20 minutes, let cool and Enjoy!

Grandma Lowe's Shrimp Macaroni Salad

This is a recipe from Grandma Lowe and this is what she said about it: "I've tasted this recipe and loved it. I think the secret is the French Dressing."

Shrimp Macaroni Salad:
1 cup uncooked salad-roni (cook and cool)
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup pimento, chopped
1 can small shrimp

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise with 1/4 cup French Dressing