Braised Chicken Thighs with Roasted Broccoli served over Lentils

I wanted something that sounded luxurious for dinner so I opted for braised chicken thighs with roasted broccoli. I adapted a recipe I found online because I could easily omit the butter from it and many other recipes called for flour to thicken a sauce.  This recipe is fairly easy, but it makes for a better weekend meal rather than weekday, just because it takes a bit of time to cook the thighs.

Braised Chicken Thighs
(adapted from Stella Culinary)

1 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken boneless skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves
1 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400F

Heat olive oil in a skilled.  Add the thighs and sear until golden brown and season to taste. Once seared, remove the thighs and place on a plate.  Add balsamic vinegar and reduce by 1/2.  Add the garlic cloves and the thighs to the pan.  Once the liquid comes to a simmer, turn off the heat and place the pan in the oven to finish cooking for about 30 minutes.

When the thighs have braised, pull the pan out of the oven and remove the chicken thighs setting them aside for later.

Place the  pan back on the stove top and turn your burner to medium-high heat and allow the braising liquid to reduce by about 3/4 or until it becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Roasted Broccoli
3 bunches of broccoli- chopped into bite size pieces
1/4 cup balsamic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, spread onto a baking sheet and throw in the oven along with the chicken.  Roast for about 20 minutes or until you can see some browned bits on the broccoli.

Lentils
Cook the Lentils according to the package.

Serve the chicken and broccoli over the lentils, or you can make three sections on the plate.  Drizzle the braising liquid over the chicken.