Adventures of a...: Sunday Night Dinner: Balsamic Rosemary Chicken

In the spirit of a new tradition (and being a copycat), I'm sharing my newest recipe. Because I'm going to Florida in a week and have to stand in a bikini next to my itty bitty mother and sister, I'm South Beach dieting before I go. I got this recipe off the South Beach website and made a couple of changes based on procrastination (you're supposed to marinade overnight), then added my own side.

***

The Main Dish: Balsamic Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3-4 sprigs (is that what they're called?) of fresh rosemary
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Info: takes about 30-40 minutes to prep and cook, serves 4

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2) Take the leaves off of the rosemary and mince them. Combine them in a bowl with the garlic and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper

3) Put the chicken breasts in an oven safe dish (I used a round Pyrex dish) and drizzle with olive oil. I used about a tablespoon, but you can use more then that. Rub the rosemary mixture into the chicken.

4) Put the chicken in the oven. After 10 minutes, flip the breasts over (and add a little butter to the pan if you're butter crazy like me). Leave them in for another 12-17 minutes. I think our oven takes a little longer than most, so I was at the higher end of the time.

5) Once it's out, drizzle balsamic vinegar over top of the chicken and serve it up! Spoon up the remaining juice in the dish to put on the chicken.

The Side: Green Beans

Ingredients
Green beans
White onion
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese (I like shaved Parm)

Directions
1) Clean and trim green beans. Chop the onion.

2) I steamed the green beans, but you could boil them too. While the green beans are cooking, soften the onions in a skillet with a little olive oil. Once both are done, toss the onions and green beans together with a little salt and pepper.

3) Add parmesan cheese and they're ready to go! I added a little of the balsamic sauce from the chicken to these, but green beans are good with red wine vinegar too.

***

Unfortunately, I didn't do a great job photographing the step by step, so I only have the final product. I also am a rookie as far as measuring goes... I generally do a lot of eyeballing.