Chicken with Lemon Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

Up until about a month ago I didn't eat meat. I stopped when I was 15 for a variety of reasons and was fine until I started having cravings last fall. I didn't crave it even while cooking in a restaurant for years or when living with former boyfriends who ate it at every meal. I tried to ignore it because I was always told I would get sick eating it again.

I gave in and didn't get sick. Instead, I actually have felt better with more energy since introducing meat back into my diet. So I've been experimenting with recipes that I have had in my head all this time and also with meals I used to cook for others (but not eat myself).

This recipe is pretty loose. I think I've mentioned before that I cook more by instinct than following an exact set of steps set by others. This is why I could never be a food blogger. For what it's worth, Chad asked that I make this again and he is a pretty picky eater (and has told me he hates lemon, one of the feature flavors).

Baked Chicken with Lemon Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

Chicken breasts (one per person, I used boneless and skinless breasts)
New potatoes (I bought a small bag, which I believe was 4 oz. There were leftovers from this.)
Pint of grape tomatoes
Garlic cloves, chopped to taste (I like my roughly chopped and a lot of garlic)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
1/2 olive oil
A couple tablespoons of Italian seasoning or similar dried herbs
Salt and pepper to taste

The potatoes and tomatoes are roasted in a lemon balsamic vinaigrette. To make this, combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, juice and zest of lemon, garlic, seasoning, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Wash potatoes and tomatoes and place in a baking dish. Pour the vinaigrette over them and toss to coat. Bake in oven with the chicken at 375 until the chicken is done and the potatoes are fork tender. It took about an hour in my oven but my chicken was cooked from frozen.

You could also grill the chicken, which I would have done if we had a grill.

To serve, drizzle the broken down tomatoes and vinaigrette from the baking dish over the chicken.

I'm linking this recipe up at Debbie's Tuesday at the Table.