Easy Chicken Dinner "Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette"

Here is an easy recipe that makes a tasty chicken dinner.  It is a Giada recipe from FoodNetwork that we tweaked just a bit.


Gather your ingredients (recipe below) and mix up the marinade at least two hours before baking. 

Whisk sauce together:

Pour over chicken that has been placed in a large ziploc bag.  Seal and put in refrigerator.  Massage it a few times during the two hours in the fridge.

Place into a baking dish or casserole, and bake until done and juices are clear,  about 45 minutes to an hour.

This is going to be good!  Remove the chicken to a platter, and put the juices into a saucepan.

If there is not enough drippings for a sauce, add some chicken broth or white wine (or half of each) and a teaspoon balsamic vinegar.  Reduce over medium high heat until desired sauce consistency.

Plate chicken, spoon over sauce,  and sprinkle lemon zest and chopped parsley over the top.  

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2    tablespoons Dijon mustard
2    tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2    garlic cloves, chopped
2    tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces (giblets, neck and backbone reserved for another use)
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions: (At least 2 hours ahead)

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in small bowl to blend. Combine the vinaigrette and chicken pieces in a large resealable plastic bag; seal the bag and toss to coat. Refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chicken from the bag and arrange the chicken pieces on a large greased baking dish. Roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 hour. If your chicken browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the remaining cooking time. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Place the baking dish on a burner over medium-low heat. Whisk the chicken broth into the pan drippings, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the baking sheet with a wooden spoon and mixing them into the broth and pan drippings. Drizzle the pan drippings over the chicken. Sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley over the chicken, and serve.

Tweaks: Check your chicken after about 45 minutes, as it is easy to overcook.  When the chicken is done, remove it to a platter and just reduce the drippings along with an additional teaspoon of balsamic vinegar down to a sauce.  If there is not much in the way of juices after cooking, just add a little broth or white wine and reduce. 
ENJOY!!!

This post is copyrighted by http://sweetpicklesfarm.blogspot.com/