In my continuing quest to bring you the best tasting QUICK ‘n “CLEAN” dishes that won’t break your food budget, I present you with my latest ONE PAN GEM! Yes, there is some prep, but you know what? If you have made the commitment to eat healthier by choosing the freshest of ingredients, along with that comes a bit of slicing and chopping. So do your best to “deal.”
But hold on for a moment. Your schedule is over-the-top-busy. I get that. So you ask what can be done to get this dish on the table FAST after coming home from a long tiring day? It’s called prepping ahead. And this recipe pairs perfectly with this concept as literally the entire dish can be “cooking-ready” when you do a bit of savvy planning
So let’s break down the basic components of this recipe: marinade, glaze and veggie prep. All three can be done up to a day ahead. So figure out (and it may be different for everyone) where you have a few holes in your schedule. First, consider prepping the veggies the night before. Do you have time to marinate the chicken and prepare the glaze in the morning or if you’re home, maybe mid-afternoon? Getting in the habit of knocking out prep ahead of time, blows away crankiness when tired cooks and hungry mouths don’t want to wait until a complete dinner is made.
Prep done? YAY! Then guess what? This meal in a pot only takes less than 20 minutes to cook from start to finish. Trust me, I’ve done it and you can too! Happy cook, happy family means full bellies and lots of smiles! I invite you to experiment with this recipe using my prep ahead technique and report back with a lovely note added to the Comment section at the end of this post!
One Pan Honey-Balsamic Chicken ‘n Vegetables
Recipe adapted from: One Pan Balsamic Chicken via TIPHERO
Yield: about 4 servings
Click HERE for the complete recipe, but in the nutshell, here is what you do:
Instruction
Marinade
In a 9 x 13-inch pan, combine all marinade ingredients. (can also use a gallon zip-loc type bag) Add chicken; toss to coat. If time allows, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. (for better penetration of flavors… In a rush? No worries!)
Glaze
In a small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients. Set aside..
Make the Dish
Drain and discard any marinade not absorbed into chicken.
In a large deep skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high setting. Sauté onions, mushrooms, carrots and string beans for about 10 minutes or until they soften and start to brown. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl.
In same pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high setting. Sauté chicken for about 2 minutes on each side or until nicely browned and almost cooked through.
Add chicken pieces to vegetables.
Add glaze to pan, stirring constantly (incorporating brown bits on bottom of pan) over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes or until thickened and a syrupy consistency has formed. Do not overcook or glaze will burn.
Combine vegetables and chicken with glaze. Continue to sauté for about 1 minute or until vegetables and chicken are evenly coated and heated through.
Serve immediately and ENJOY!
One Pan Honey-Balsamic Chicken ‘n Vegetables
But hold on for a moment. Your schedule is over-the-top-busy. I get that. So you ask what can can be done to get this dish on the table FAST after coming home from a long tiring day? It’s called prepping ahead. And this recipe pairs perfectly with this concept as literally the entire dish can be cooking-ready when you do a bit of savvy planning.
Recipe Adapted from: One Pan Balsamic Chicken via Tiphero
Yield:about 4 servings
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 ¼ pounds chicken breast tenderloins or boneless chicken breast cut into strips
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for sautéing chicken
Glaze
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons all- natural reduced-sodium chicken broth
Vegetables
- 1 medium sweet onion sliced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced (any variety)
- 4 carrots peeled, trimmed and sliced
- 1 pound string beans trimmed and sliced into 1/3’s
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Marinade
- In a 9 x 13-inch pan, combine all marinade ingredients. (can also use a gallon zip-loc type bag) Add chicken; toss to coat.If time allows, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes . (for better penetration of flavors... In a rush? No worries!)
Glaze
- In a small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients. Set aside.
Make the Dish
- Drain and discard any marinade not absorbed into chicken.
- In a large deep skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high setting. Sauté onions, mushrooms, carrots and string beans for about 10 minutes or until they soften and start to brown.
- Transfer vegetables to a large bowl.
- In same pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high setting. Sauté chicken for about 2 minutes on each side or until nicely browned and almost cooked through. Add chicken pieces to vegetables.
- Add glaze to pan, stirring constantly (incorporating brown bits on bottom of pan) over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes or until thickened and a syrupy consistency has formed. Do not overcook or glaze will burn.
- Combine vegetables and chicken with glaze. Continue to sauté for about 1 minute or until vegetables and chicken are evenly coated and heated through.
Notes
Notes:
For great “depth of flavor,” look for a good quality balsamic vinegar. If the one you have chosen seems a bit too sweet, add a bit of acidity by tossing the chicken and vegetables with juice of a ½ lemon just prior to serving.
Feel free to change up your veggies making use of whatever you have in the fridge. I have made this dish numerous times and it’s always a hit. Favorite veggies include sugar snaps, artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower and cherry tomatoes.
More Prep Ahead Favorites
Coming to the Blog: Greek Isles Grilled Chicken Salad
Ceeya Next Time!
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Linda Shapiro, Meal Planning Maven
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