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So let’s do dinner in 30 minutes today!!
I figured you guys would be into that, right??
It’s Wednesday, aka hump day, but if I am being honest, I am not really a fan of the phrase “hump day”. No reason really, other than the fact that I don’t love the way it sounds. I prefer to just say “it’s Wednesday!! I am halfway through the week and tomorrow is Thursday and then Friday and, YESS!!!! Friday is my favorite!”. Okay, so that is way longer and more work than just saying hump day, but it’s so much more fun!!
Anyway, I thought it would be nice to give you guys a quick and tasty meal for today. I kind of think it could be perfect for Valentine’s Day, but it’s also great just for today, tomorrow or any other day. Yep, all would work!
Currently, I am up to my ears in food though, so from now through what seems like forever and ever, I will be eating leftovers. It’s not bad thing, we like leftovers around here. Oh, and if you are wondering about the leftovers from this chicken, they are DELISH. I should know since I made the recipe three times in one week.
Yup, I did.
This recipe was one of those where I just could not get the photos to turn out the way I really wanted them to. Third time was a charm though…thank God. I was not going to go for a fourth round, so I’m pretty pleased they finally came out!
Yeah!!!
Actually, making a recipe three times seems like nothing these day. I am deep into cookbook recipe testing and, man oh man, it is a lot! I feel like I have barely even made a dent in all these recipes. UGH. Good news is that I am SO excited about the recipes I have been testing and it feels great to give them all a giant check mark. If you follow me on snapchat than you have seen a pretty good amount of what I have been working on behind the scenes. Lots of food, lots oh photography, lots of dishes… oh, and really super messy hair!
That’s basically my life these days. I’ve decided to just not look in the mirror during the day because I totally scare myself when I do. The amount of food that ends up on me is kind of insane. And my hair? Oh man, you do not even want to know what I find in there at the end of the day!
It’s scary.
Adding to my messy appearance are the animals. You see the animal chores were recently handed over to me, since my dad (who normally takes care of them) is out-of-town for a couple of weeks.
UGH.
Work life on top of farm chores equals a majorly tiring day. The goats however, are LOVING the amount of cooking I have been doing. They get all the produce scraps (think all the leftover veggies and fruits) at the end of the day. They seriously go crazy for the blue bucket full of scraps I carry out to them. They’ll eat literally anything, like ANYTHING (I’m talking from shoes to hot peppers). Leafy greens are their favorite though, so clearly they are pumped. Okay and while I’m on the topic of the goats, Taramisu, who is currently our only milking goat, is really starting to dry up. That means it’s time for BABY GOATS!!! OMG. OMG. OMG. Honestly. I cannot wait. I mean, have you guys seen baby goats??? Look them up on google right now. Baby goats are the cutest creatures ever. I am so beyond excited!!
And baby goats, mean so much fresh goat milk, which also means fresh goat cheese, which then converts to creamy goat cheese polenta. SCORE!
Sorry, am I totally annoying you guys today?
Let me move on to this honey balsamic and lemon brussels sprout chicken then, before I lose you completely. This is such a yummy chicken dish. It’s so simple, but the balsamic honey glaze adds SO much flavor, it’s both sweet and tangy. The touch of lemon adds some brightness and the brussels sprouts add green, healthiness and flavor. And then the polenta? Well, that just speaks for itself. It’s creamy, buttery perfection with every bite. NO JOKE.
Bottom line, you have got to give this meal a try. It comes together so quickly and is loaded with fresh and healthy flavors. Dinner made yummy… and easy!!
Honey Balsamic and Lemon Brussels Sprout Chicken with Goat Cheese Polenta.
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 654 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup dry polenta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- salt and pepper
Balsamic Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or tenderloins, cut into bit size pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt + pepper
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound shredded brussels sprouts if your brussels are really small you may just halve them
- juice of 1 lemon + fresh lemon wedges for serving
- 1 bunch fresh basil chopped
- goat cheese or parmesan for topping (optional)
Instructions
Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta
- Bring 1 1/2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups milk to a low boil in a medium size pot. Whisk in the polenta and cook 15-20 minutes until thickened. Stir in the butter and goat cheese, season with salt and pepper.
Balsamic Chicken
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and once hot, add the chicken. Season with salt + pepper. Cook until the chicken is browned all over and cooked through, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic, honey, dijon, oregano, thyme and crushed red pepper. Slowly pour the balsamic mixture into the skillet with the chicken. Cook until the balsamic thickens and coats the chicken, about 5 minutes. Watch close, you don't want to cook the sauce so much that it ends up sticking to the bottom of your pan. Once the sauce has thickened, reduce the heat and toss in the brussels sprouts. Cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the brussels sprouts have just begun to cook down. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil + lemon juice.
- To serve, divide the polenta among low pasta bowls or plate. Top with the chicken and brussels sprouts. Garnish with fresh basil + lemon. EAT.
Wednesday dinner is looking on point. 🙂
Hey! I’m actually in the middle of making this recipe right now! looks super good and i love balsamic, honey, and mustard combo!
I just noticed though that in the ingredients for the polenta you only have the 1 1/2 cups of milk, but in the recipe it asked for 1 1/2 cup water “AND” 1 1/2 cups milk. Is this an or.. or did you just miss the water in the ingredients?
Hey Dylan!!
Sorry for the confusion, it is 1 1/2 cups water + 1 1/2 cups milk. SORRY if this messed you up today! Hope all went well though. Thank you so much!! 🙂
Hi, do you think that this recipe would be good using grit instead of polenta? Apologies if you’ve already answered this!
HI! Grits will be just as delicious!! Hope you love this, thanks!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made this for dinner tonight, and it was a hit! We are low-carbers, so I did not make the polenta. I pre-roasted the brussel slices earlier in the day since the variety sold in my area tend to be tough. I topped each serving with some crumbled herbed goat cheese, and that really added a lot to the finished product. I followed the recipe proportions exactly, and without the polenta, it was enough for two adults.
By the way, how is that cookbook coming along?!
Hey Diane!!
So happy you loved this, thank you! The book is coming along great, thank so much for asking! 🙂
I just made this tonight and added some leftover mushrooms and green beans we had from a steakhouse the night before. And sprinkled some crispy prosciutto on it because I can’t help myself. Delicious!! Only bummed we ate it all so I have no leftovers. A great recipe, as usual!
Just made this. Mine didn’t look as pretty as the pictures but the flavors were amazing. Totally different than anything I’ve made before. We will definitely make this one again! 🙂
YAY!! So happy you loved it! Thanks and Happy Valentines Day! 🙂
Planning on making this in the next couple days but I haven’t been able to find polenta. Would cornmeal but an okay substitute? Opting to try cream cheese possibly as well since goat cheese is not so loved in my home…. What do you think?!
Polenta is cornmeal. You can use a nice stone ground variety. Very coarse ground cornmeal is also sold as grits. I used oraganic stone ground grits and the cream cheese and yogurt were really tasty.
Thanks!
Hey Morgan! Yes, cornmeal will work just like polenta and cream cheese will be great! Hope you love this! THANKS!
As always, you never seize to disappoint. Dope recipe as per usual. Thanks again!!
YUMMY recipe, these plates look stunningly delicious! I would eat ALL of these plates!
thank you!! 🙂
This is my new favorite dish! I can’t say enough about it! The only thing I did differently was that I added asparagus and roasted both vegetables briefly before adding them to the chicken. everything cane together quickly and the layers of flavor were amazing. Good enough for company. Thank you for sharing such a fabulous recipe!
SO thrilled you love this recipe, thank you! 🙂
Looks absolutely delicious!!
Thanks Caroline! 🙂
Made this last night. The chicken was good but we found out we prefer our polenta without the addition of goat cheese. It was a quick and easy meal to prepare.
Thanks Tieghan.
Thank you! Have a great weekend!
So simple yet looks amazing! Gonna give that a try soon!
I had polenta only once in my life (yes, don’t judge me) and it was a DISASTER. So we’ll see!
First of all, quick and tasty meals are exactly what I need these days. We’ve decided that our daughter is a howler monkey, so anything more a 30 minute meal just doesn’t cut it. Hey, that means we both have animals!! Except mine doesn’t eat shoes and hot peppers and make cute baby goats and goat cheese, and all that wonderful stuff 🙂
I’m glad recipe testing is going well! I don’t know how you do it, what with the book, and how often you blog, and the chores on top of it! Truly an inspiration!!
haha! Your comment totally made me smile…I LOVE little kids. They are so cute, but I have to say I have NO idea how you do it! Kids + Work = get nothing done for me!! LOL. I watched my little sis for a week and getting work done was the hardest thing ever. GO YOU! 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Your posts are so thought out, beautifully photographed and most of all sounds so so delicious. I am loving the addition of goat cheese in polenta, so yum.
xx
Really enjoying your recipes. Your style is right up my alley. Glad that you finished this one and didn’t toss it after round two. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for the awesome recipe!! I made this for our dinner tonight with a few variations and it was yummy! I replaced the chicken with an 8 oz. package of tempeh which I marinated in the sauce before cooking. Not having any goat cheese I used 1/2 cream cheese and 1/2 plain yogurt. We loved all the great flavors here, and I know I’ll be making this again!