Balsamic Chicken and Vegetables One Tray Bake

A healthy, quick and easy one tray bake that is perfect for your week night meals.

Here is a fantastic recipe that is not only healthy & delicious but also so quick & easy to prepare. And the best part about it is that cleaning up after would be breeze! Just your baking tray, cutting board and knife. Have I got your attention yet? And I believe this recipe (that is gluten-free & dairy-free) is Whole30 and SCD (Slow Carb Diet) compliant too.

As much as I love to cook, I often feel bad that I am spending my time in the kitchen preparing dinners when the kids are home from school. Sometimes, all they want is for me to play a board game with them or just make slime!

With this one tray bake recipe, I spend about 15 to 20 minutes before the kids get home from school to cut up the meat and vegetables, marinate them real quick and then onto the baking tray they go. And because I can get lose track of time easily, I pop the tray into the oven and set it on a timer for it to be cooked by dinner time. The kids and I get to spend time together and dinner is ready on time! I even have plenty left for the entire family's lunch the next day.

Balsamic Chicken and Vegetables One Tray Bake
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from The Real Food Dietitians

Recipe
Ingredients
​2 to 2 1/2 lbs Chicken Breast (boneless and skinless)
1 lb Broccoli Florets
3 Carrots (cut diagonally)
8 oz Mushrooms (sliced thickly)
1 Red Onion (finely diced)
8 oz Cherry Tomatoes
1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Olive Oil
4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 1/3 oz Fresh Basil (I used 2 packets of HEB Organics that is 2/3 oz per packet) (chopped and divided)
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Cooking Method
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
2. Tenderize chicken breast by placing them between plastic wrap and pounding it gently with the flat size of the meat tenderizer hammer.
3. Cut each tenderized chicken breast into 3 to 4 pieces and place them into a ziplock bag.
4, In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, minced garlic, 3/4 portion of the chopped basil, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper to make the marinade.
5. Use 1/3 cup of the marinade to marinate the chicken pieces in the ziplock bag.
6. Place broccoli florets, cut carrots, sliced mushrooms and diced red onion onto the baking tray. Pour the remaining marinade over the vegetables and toss to coat.
7. Placed marinated chicken pieces on top of the vegetables on the tray. Bake on 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. 
8. After 15 minutes, add cherry tomatoes and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
9. Garnish with remaining chopped basil and freshly cracked black pepper.

Makes 4 to 6 servings