Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers AND Broccoli and cheese-stuffed potatoes

It's a two-in-one!  We made the Roast chicken with balsamic bell peppers for the first time a while back and decided to make these stuffed potatoes with it (in the background).  The potatoes we've made before and they are DELICIOUS!  Stuffed with broccoli, mushrooms, cheese and bacon, they're a great way to have an individual serving of comfort food without the whole pan of mac 'n cheese or mashed potatoes.

The balsamic pepper chicken was good, but not great. You may like it. We felt for the amount of time you had to put in to make this that it wasn't worth it.  If you like balsamic, you will like this dish.

We didn't make any changes to either of these dishes. 

As of today's post, 9 people rated the broccoli stuffed potatoes a 5 out of 5 (they really are tasty).  As for the balsamic chicken, 79 people rated it a 4 out of 5. 

The broccoli potatoes go into our cookbook, the chicken did not. Decide for yourself though whether you like them!

Roast chicken with balsamic bell peppers

Recipe by Ivy Manning, Cooking Light, January 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half and about 1/2 cup bell pepper mixture)

Ingredients

• 3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 3/4  teaspoon  fennel seeds, crushed
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper, divided
• 1/4  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2  tablespoons  olive oil, divided
• Cooking spray
• 2  cups  thinly sliced red bell pepper
• 1  cup  thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
• 1/2  cup  thinly sliced shallots (about 1 large)
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh rosemary
• 1  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  tablespoon  balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Brush chicken with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; sprinkle spice rub over chicken. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Arrange chicken in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until done.
3. Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, shallots, and rosemary; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 282

Fat: 11g (sat 2.1g,mono 6.4g,poly 1.7g)

Protein: 35.9g

Carbohydrate: 8.8g

Fiber: 1.9g

Cholesterol: 94mg

Iron: 2mg

Sodium: 644mg

Calcium: 38mg

 

Broccoli and Cheese-Stuffed Potato

Cooking Light, January 2005

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 potato half)

Ingredients

• 2  baking potatoes (about 1 3/4 pounds)
• 2  bacon slices
• 1  cup  broccoli florets
• 1  cup  presliced mushrooms
• 1/2  cup  chopped onion
• 1  teaspoon  bottled minced garlic
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese
• 1/4  cup  fat-free sour cream
• 2  tablespoons  fat-free milk
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.
Pierce potatoes with a fork; arrange on paper towels in microwave oven. Microwave at high 16 minutes or until done, turning and rearranging potatoes after 8 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.
While potatoes cook, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; reserve 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add broccoli, mushrooms, onion, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 7 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Combine potato pulp, onion mixture, cheese, and remaining ingredients; divide evenly among shells.
Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until potatoes are thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with reserved bacon.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 245 (22% from fat)

Fat: 5.9g (sat 3.1g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.3g)

Protein: 12.5g

Carbohydrate: 42.3g

Fiber: 5.3g

Cholesterol: 17mg

Iron: 2.1mg

Sodium: 408mg

Calcium: 297mg