Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken: First Hall of Fame Dinner Recipe!

This is my first recipe from "Budget Bytes" and I am shocked that it took me this long to blog about it. I am obsessed with Beth M, the creator of this magical site. I really am her #1 Foodie Fan. Her easy to follow, unique, delicious, and inexpensive recipes have totally upped the ante when it comes to my cooking. I have tried a bunch of her recipes and have only had one that was only "ok", the rest were fantastic. She also incorporates a lot of ingredients that you already have in the house so you are not running out to by 20 different items you'll never use again. Her blog is accessible and easy enough for beginner cooks while still providing tasty challenges for advanced cooks.

When I found out my grandparents were stopping in my neck of the woods on their way to the 6th borough of New York (aka the East Coast of Florida) for their winter hibernation, I knew I had to 1. show off my new found cooking prowess and 2. Cook something from Budget Bytes.

Hers. She makes a pretty presentation. Photo from Budgetbytes.blogspot.com



Mine

I decided on the Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken because it is savory, full of flavor, and basic enough that most everyone will enjoy the meal. The best part about it is that you can get the marinade out of the way in the morning and finish up the recipe in the evening, so it's definitely good for men and women with hectic schedules.

The recipe is below, but if you want to see the break down of price per ingredient, check out the full blog post here:

Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken
(recipe from Budget Bytes, photos are from personal stock)

Total Recipe cost: $6.75
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $1.69
Prep time: 20 min. Cook time: 15 min. Total: 35 min.
Ingredients: 2 Lg chicken breasts, 1/4 C Balsamic Vinegar, 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil, 1/4 TSP minced garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper.

Bruschetta Topping: 4 medium Roma tomatos, 1/2 medium Vidalia (sweet) onion, 1 TSP minced garlic, 2 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar, 1 TBSP Olive Oil, salt and pepper to taste, 1 C of shredded mozzarella.

STEP 1: Trim the excess fat from the chicken breasts and cut each piece into two. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and pound the pieces down to one inch in thickness (use a rolling pin or heavy pan to pound).

Individual chicken breasts and lots of 'em!

STEP 2: Place the chicken pieces in a container or zip top bag along with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp minced garlic (or one clove if using fresh), and a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Mix everything around to make sure the chicken is coated in the marinade. Refrigerate until ready to cook.



Soaking up the marinade

STEP 3: Prepare the bruschetta topping. Finely dice the onion and tomatoes. Combine them in a bowl with the minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Stir well, taste, and add salt and pepper to your liking (I like generous salt in this mix, about 1/2 tsp).




Topping (I tripled the recipe)



STEP 4: Grill the chicken until cooked through (I used my countertop grill, it only took 5 minutes). Turn the oven on to broil and adjust the rack so that is about 6 inches below the heating element.

STEP 5: Place the grilled chicken pieces on a baking sheet covered with foil. Top each piece of chicken with about 1/4 cup of the tomato bruschetta topping and about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. It's okay if some falls off, you can scoop it onto your plate along with the chicken. Place the baking sheet in the oven under the broiler. Cook just until the cheese is fully melted (5-10 minutes). Serve hot!

Pre Oven

Out of the broiler. Check out that cheese!

Pros: YUM YUM YUM! This recipe is so fresh and the flavors balance each other out perfectly. Also, the recipe is super easy to follow along with.

Cons: Can't think of anything really.

Revisions: Instead of getting 2LG chicken breasts, we just got individual chicken breasts, pounded them out a bit, and after the marinade, put them on a charcoal grill. (I'm a big believer everything tastes better on a real grill, but you could do it either way). Also, keep an eye on your broiler! The first time I made this, I didn't check on my chicken till 5 minutes in and the cheese had already started to burn. This time under my more careful eye, it only took 2-3 minutes until the cheese on top was gooey and melted and ready to come out.

I know this is redundant, but I really love Budget Bytes. I just think it is one of those food blogs, out of so many unnecessary food blogs out there (possibly this one included?) that really satisfies a need that many people have; to find an inexpensive, healthy way to cook. And not only that, but a way to cook that is satisfying and tastes good.

Needless to say, this was a Hall of Fame recipient. It got the seal of approval from my grandparent's and the cleaned plates were the greatest compliment for this beginner chef.

They like it, they really like it!