Blood Orange Balsamic Chicken

Do you ever search for a recipe based on what you have available? I do all the time. And for what needs to be made before it goes bad. I had these gorgeous cherry tomatoes from ALDIs that were about passed their point of no return and found this recipe which I tweaked a bit. I bought different balsamic vinegars when I was in Brown County, Indiana last fall. A blood orange and a cranberry pear. 

So, I decided to switch out a plain run of the mill balsamic vinegar with this blood orange infused balsamic vinegar. What do you think? I added this chicken recipe to my must have again file, because it’s that good. A surprise when trying it was the cherry tomatoes tasted great because they were soaked in the garlic blood orange balsamic vinegar while baking. Yummy! 

This recipe serves 4. A rule of thumb is one breast per person. Make sure to check your chicken after baking that it is at a safe internal temperature of 165 F. It took about an hour to make this, but I marinated the chicken a couple hours prior to baking. I would at least marinate it an hour. Enjoy! 

Marinade Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 tablespoon blood orange balsamic vinegar (or balsamic vinegar of your choosing)

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 teaspoon oregano 

1 teaspoon thyme 

1 teaspoon basil 

Salt and pepper, to taste 

Remaining Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons melted butter 

2 garlic cloves, minced 

6 tablespoons blood orange balsamic vinegar (or balsamic vinegar of your choosing)

1 pint cherry tomatoes 

1 cup fontina cheese (you can substitute mozzarella or Parmesan)

1 tablespoon basil 

Salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions: 

Put all the marinade ingredients in a large bag (large enough for your chicken breasts) add the chicken and  make sure your chicken is coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour. 

In a greased 9x13” baking dish add the melted butter, garlic and balsamic vinegar, stir to evenly distribute. Add the chicken and cherry tomatoes. Bake in a preheated 425F oven for 30 minutes. When done check internal temperature to see if at least 165F. Switch oven to broil. Top the chicken with the cheese and broil until melted, 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle on the basil and salt and pepper, to taste.