Balsamic Chicken with Feta

This recipe is inspired by a meal my sister made for me a while ago so i decided to give it a go on my own. It was really easy to prepare and didn't take a lot of time. I paired the chicken with whole wheat couscous and sauteed zucchini and mushrooms. For the chicken, I used fat free feta cheese because that is what was in my fridge, but next time I would use cheese with a little fat to make it a little more melty and delicious!

Balsamic Chicken w/ feta (serves 1)
Ingredients:
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 tbsp feta cheese (my sister used Gorgonzola cheese)
a pinch dried oregano
coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Ingredients for sides:
1/4 cup dried whole wheat couscous (I buy it at Trader Joes)
1/4 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)

1/2 small zucchini, sliced
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To prepare the chicken, put it in a sandwich sized zip-lock bag. Tenderize with a meat mallet (a heavy metal spoon works too). Pour the vinegar and oregano into the bag, seal and mix well. The longer you marinate, the stronger the flavor will be. For me, this was a last minute meal, so I only left it in the bag for 5-10 minutes. Spray a baking dish with a little cooking spray and place the chicken breast in the dish. Top with the sliced onions and bake for approx 25 minutes (until flesh is no longer pink). Add the feta cheese and then broil on low for ~5 minutes, or until the cheese melts and starts to brown.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare your sides. Couscous can be cooked on the stove or in the microwave. I made mine in the microwave. In a high sided bowl add the uncooked couscous and the vegetable broth, cook for 1 minute. Stir after a minute and continue cooking until soft in 30 second intervals, stirring. When you remove it from the microwave, cover the bowl.

In a small skillet, heat olive oil on medium on the stove top. Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Splash in a little balsamic vinegar and oregano and cook until tender and browned.

When plated, this meal looks like it may have taken a lot of work, but it was really almost effortless. I would definitely cook this again! Thanks for the inspiration Amanda! :)