What's for Dinner Wednesday - Chicken Balsamico with Pears

It's decided. What's for Dinner Wednesdays have been born, or WFDW as they will be tagged. I realised after scraping my plate clean tonight I had not taken a picture of the deliciousness I had cooked up, so lesson learned. Next time there will be pictures.

Now, as much as I love to cook I have little time for cooking shows on TV. I like the idea of them, and every once in a while I stumble across one on a rainy Sunday afternoon that I can glean from, but for the most part they do not hold my attention for long before I am off to the kitchen for a snack. However, cooking segments on morning TV are something I love. They only last a few minutes, they give you all the important info but because of time constraints do not waffle on (no cooking pun intended) and then they are done. If I like the recipe I can Google it - and that is the story behind dinner tonight.

I was looking for a recipe that did not involve leaving the house to buy ingredients and when I saw this dish being cooked up I knew it fit the bill in that way, and it sounded delicious. It sounds fancy, but it is so simple.

This is probably not a meal many kiddos would appreciate. The Balsamic vinegar gives it a very strong taste. I love it and the hubs gave it two thumbs up too but if you have little ones, especially picky eaters you may want to save this dish for date night.

I know people say you should drink white wine with chicken, but this thick, rich sauce would be balanced better with a nice glass of red in my humble opinion.

I served it with rosemary mashed potatoes but it would be just as good with rice and then finished off with a fresh green salad.

Here is a link to the Today Show website with the full recipe, but here is the recipe I did tonight which made the perfect meal for two.

Ingredients
1 large or 2 small Chicken breasts,
1 Bosc Pear, peeled cored and sliced (I ended up with about 12 slices, they do not need to be too thin)
1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
1 Garlic clove
1/2 C Organic Chicken Broth
1/8 C Balsamic Vinegar
3/4 Tbsp Honey
1/2 Tbsp Corn Starch

Directions
If you are using one large chicken breast, slice it through the middle to make two fillets.

Pound both the chicken pieces with a meat tenderizer until 1/2 inch think, use clear plastic wrap between the meat and the tenderizer.

Sprinkle the top and bottom of the chicken with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Cook the chicken for a few minutes on each side until cooked. Remove from the skillet and keep warm on a plate.

Reduce heat to medium and add the minced garlic clove to the pan. After a couple of minutes, add the pears and cook for about 4 minutes until golden brown.

While the pears are cooking, mix the following ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk;
chicken broth, honey, balsamic vinegar, and corn starch.

When the pears are browned, pour the vinegar mixture over the pears. Increase heat to high until the mixture boils and then reduce to low immediately. The sauce will thicken. Simmer for 4-6 minutes and then add the chicken back into the pan for a couple of minutes.

Serve and enjoy! So, so good. I hope you enjoy it!