Dinner Invention

I wanted to make something to go with our lovely asparagus, and my favorite way to eat asparagus is to roast it, so I had to come up with something that would be simple enough but robust enough to fit. I couldn't think of any recipes, so I decided just to experiment. After all, if I can't experiment on Blake, how would I learn, right? So here is my dinner invention. I paired it with Ina Garten's roasted asparagus recipe and some simple roasted potatoes. For the potatoes I just boiled them in salted water and when they were almost finished cooking I drained them and tossed them with oilive oil, salt and pepper, dotted them with a little butter, and put them under the broiler until they were browned and crispy on top. My favorite way to eat potatoes.

And this isn't really the best picture to show what the chicken actually looks like since I topped it with the onions I cooked it in. But you get the idea ...

Yummy Chicken
serves 2
1 large chicken breast, trimmed
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 lemon, sliced thin
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 t herbes de provence
1 onion
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
3 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Cut the onion into medium chunks, toss into a pie plate or roasting pan with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Put in oven to start cooking.
2. Meanwhile, slice the chicken almost all the way through horizontally into 3 pieces. Divide sliced garlic, about 3-4 lemon slices, red pepper flakes, herbes de provence, and salt and pepper, and place inside the chicken "flaps".
3. Pull out the onions from the oven and nestle the chicken into the middle. Place some onions on top of the chicken and cover with aluminum foil. Cook for about 35-40 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through. Cut into 2 pieces and serve with onions on top or surrounding the chicken.