Rosemary Balsamic Chicken and Roasted Beets

One of my favorite prepared foods from Trader Joe's is the Rosemary Balsamic Chicken. As you know from previous posts, I never buy something without reading the ingredients. The last time I was in a hurry for a quick meal, I went to grab a package of this chicken from Trader Joe's and found some ingredients I wasn't too happy to see. At the moment I was bummed, considering I love that chicken, and that meant I had to head home and cook something, but after my disappointment passed, I realized this was a great opportunity for us to make this dish ourselves!

To accompany the chicken, we decided on roasted red and golden beets. Bill and I had stopped at the East End Food Coop to grab a few items, and upon entry spotted the golden beets. My mom has been telling us to post roasted beets for weeks, being that they are so delicious, and I was definitely craving them, so this was a great opportunity.

Beet purchase success, and homeward bound to cook another simply delicious meal.

For the Chicken-

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (organic free range is best choice)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
  
  

Process:

1. Rinse chicken breasts and place in a Pyrex dish.
2. Drizzle olive oil over all 3 chicken breasts, and lightly rub to evenly distribute the oil.
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken.
4. Press fresh garlic and rosemary into chicken breasts.
   
   
   
5. Broil at 400 for about 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.
6. Remove chicken from oven and pour 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar over fully cooked chicken breasts.
   
   

For the beets-

Ingredients:

• Equal parts golden and red beets (we used 2 of each and it was more than enough, if you prefer one over the other feel free to roast only golden, or only red, both are delicious.)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Thoroughly clean beets (we used a scrub brush); feel free to peel off parts that don't look too desirable.
2. Cut off ends, and chop into cubes.
3. Cover with olive oil, salt and pepper, and mix to evenly distribute seasoning (we use our hands).
   
   
   
4. Roast at 400 until beets are tender, test with a fork.

This meal was very simple to make, and was extremely delicious. This will definitely be a meal that we will make often. Try this recipe, and as always enjoy!