Chicken with Herbed Vegetable Sauce

Today is my dad's birthday. We did the big surprise party last weekend, so tonight I decided to cook a nice dinner for my mom and dad.

I chose this recipe for Chicken with Herbed Vegetable Sauce. I made a few minor changes, including using parsley instead of basil as my mom and I don't like too much basil in recipes. Changes are noted in italics.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (I used 1 tsp dried thyme)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (I used 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 butter)
• 2 small zucchini, cut into thin strips
• 1 small leek (white and pale green parts only), cut into thin strips
• 4 2-inch-long pieces celery, cut into thin strips (I didn't have any so I didn't use it, and didn't miss it)
• 1/2 medium carrot, cut into thin strips
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth (I used 1 14.5 oz can)
• 8 large fresh basil leaves, sliced (used parsley instead)
• I added 2 bay leaves

Preparation

• Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and half of thyme.
• Heat oil (and butter) in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add chicken; sauté 3 minutes per side (my chicken was thick so I left it in for about 5 min per side). Transfer to plate.
• Add zucchini, leek, celery, carrot, garlic and remaining thyme. Sauté until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add tomatoes.
• Return chicken to skillet, nestling chicken among vegetables.
• Pour in broth and bay leaves; bring to boil.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to platter and remove bay leaves.
• Add basil (parsley) and boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper; spoon sauce and vegetables over chicken.
  

I will make this again, but to thicken the sauce a bit more, I'll mix 1 tbsp butter with 1 tsp flour and whisk it into the sauce. I really don't think basil would have been the right flavor for this dish - the thyme and bay leaves were just enough, and the parsley added nice color.

We served the chicken over mashed potatoes that my dad made - he loves making mashed potatoes! The herbed sauce was so delicious over both the chicken and the potatoes. Once plated it was so colorful and beautiful, and it tasted so light and fresh.

Happy Birthday Dad!!!