Honey Balsamic Glazed Chicken Quinoa Bowls are a hearty and flavor meal! Juicy chicken is coated in a sticky, sweet balsamic glaze then paired with fluffy quinoa, creamy goat cheese, and fresh cherries. A perfect make ahead meal!
Grab a cup of coffee. I’ve got lots of emotions today.
First off, so much love for these honey balsamic glazed chicken quinoa bowls. Bowls are kind hot right now, you agree? You can practically throw anything into a bowl, load on the toppings and chow down. You really can do no wrong. There are smoothie bowls. Salad bowls. And dinna bowls. As in quinoa bowls! Just about anything goes, as long as you can fit it into a bowl.
Tip?
Grab the biggest bowl you have and get mixing!
Typically bowls start with a base – a hearty, carby base. Oh, carbs. How I love thee. Today I chose quinoa but you can use brown rice, farro, couscous; pick your favorite. Next, comes a protein; chicken, eggs, beef, even tofu! As you probably already guessed given the recipe title, we have sweet and savory glazed chicken. I adore balsamic vinegar in just about any fashion. But with honey? Oh, mama. We are talking a whole different ballpark. As it cooks, it caramelizes and creates a delicious glaze. The chicken is marinated to maximize the flavor, but between you and me? You can totally skip this step if you are hangry (hungry + angry = never a good thing).
After you pile on your protein, go crazy with the toppings. This includes cheese, other veggies, sauces, nuts for crunch. Just about anything you can get your paws on in your pantry. I have an extreme obsession with cherries currently; sweet, slightly tart and are just as tasty in savory dishes as they are in sweet. Plus cherries just scream summer, don’t they? I also added thinly sliced red onion and creamy , sweet goat cheese. But if goat cheese isn’t your thing, swap in parmesan or even blue cheese. I am not lying here folks, just about anything goes here. Except cheddar. Just no.
Now onto the other feelings I’ve got going on. I’ve decided to break from the blog for a bit. It is something I have bounced around in my head for quite some time, but never pulled the trigger. Even after Aiden was born, I still cranked out recipes. Just always powered through.
There are many things I am beyond grateful for in my life. My beautiful family. A husband that continually supports me and makes me a laugh. A baby boy that keeps me on my feet and makes me proud to call him mine. A home that I find new projects to start on each week. Family and friends close by to share a glass of wine with to unwind. Along with a job that I get to call the shots.
Along with calling the shots, comes endless hours of work. Running a food blog is much more than creating dishes in the kitchen, snapping a couple photos and putting them up on the blog. I am forced to wear many hats. Many that I had little or no experience in, or aware of, prior to starting this little blog.
Over the past 2 years, I have grown leaps and bounds in those categories; all while maintaining a job for the first year, getting married, becoming pregnant, moving and now being a full-time Mama. What does that all mean? It means I have always been in the fast lane, never coasting. Never just living. So this break is a long time coming and extremely needed for the soul.
In case you haven’t read my ‘About Me’ page, I have been in and out of dealing with PCOS, a hormone imbalance that comes with a slue of other problems. I thought upon having Aiden I was in the clear. Appears my hormones were working, right? Well since his birth, I have had a rollercoaster of feelings. From highs to lows; unfortunately more lows than I would like to experience. I decided to visit a naturopath doctor to help sort out this laundry bag of issues. The first thing she suggested was an allergy sensitivity panel. The results? Are you ready for this? Eggs (already knew, but apparently more allergic to than I thought), dairy, soy, cane sugar, gluten, yeast, almonds, peas and beef. Luckily, my doctor doesn’t think I am allergic to all these foods. Rather I have something called “Leaky Gut”; in a nut shell it means the walls of my intestines are breaking down and allowing particles of food to pass into my blood stream that are not supposed to pass. This causes my body to essentially fight itself since it sees these foods as foreign. Which causes many symptoms I have been experiencing the past couple of years; digestive issues, food allergies, PCOS, fatigue, anxiety, skin issues. Needless to say upon this diagnosis I was overwhelmed. With having to revamp my already pretty clean diet, my anxiety level went into a tailspin.
It has been a little over a month since I received that news and I am on the path to, hopefully, a quick recovery. But it is not an easy road. Stress is a big culprit and I have finally realized I do not handle stress well. So this blogging break? Very, very needed.
This break will be the first time that I have truly stepped away from the blog; even on my honeymoon and vacations, I have worked here and there. The blog was always on mind. So after three years, I need some time to regroup.
I plan on being away or about a month; and by that I mean, I won’t be posting new recipes besides the weekly meal plans. But you will probably see me pop in and out of Instagram and Snapchat (missmeglink) along with posting on Facebook and Twitter! I want you to realize this is a very hard decision to step away from my own creative corner. This place has become my outlet from the craziness that has become my household. There’s only so many times I can listen to the Hot Dog Dance. Right? I love sharing the recipes we are loving lately, and most of all, hearing from you, my amazing readers. But I am finding myself tired, burned out and with no motivation to create unique dishes or even snap pictures of them.
What am I finding is the desire to step back, concentrate on my health and decompress. My family needs this. I need this. I need this more than anything to regain my health. Regain my desire. And set my path straight.
I hope this little break will rejuvenate me and wash way that exhaustion I feel every time I sit down to do something for the blog. I don’t want you to think that I don’t care about the blog; that’s the reason I am stepping away is because I care. I want to be open, honest and myself with you all. So a short hiatus is just the ticket to get my groove back.
Until then, stay hungry!
Megan
Items I used to make this recipe:
15 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
35 minTotal Time
Yields 4
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4 - 4 ounce chicken breasts
- Honey Balsamic Dressing:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Quinoa Bowl:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 2 ounces soft goat cheese
- 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup chopped cherries, pits removed
Instructions
- In a glass mixing bowl, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic powder, dijon, salt, and pepper until smooth.
- Toss the kale with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place chicken in glass baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. Add to preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and reaches 165 degrees F. In the last 5 minutes, brush the dressing over the chicken. Flip and repeat.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to package instructions but subbing water with chicken broth.
- When ready to serve, divide the quinoa, marinated kale, goat cheese, red onion, and cherries between 4 serving bowls. Slice chicken and add to bowls.
Notes
*This dish is perfect for meal prep! Simply make the chicken and quinoa ahead of time. Reheat when its time to heat!
Hungry for more quinoa dishes?
Goat Cheese & Mushroom Quinoa Risotto
Caramelized Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese and Roasted Grapes
One Pot Thai Quinoa Bowl with Chicken and Spicy Peanut Sauce
If you make this recipe, make sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #WITHSALTANDWIT. I’d love to see what you are cooking up in your kitchen!
5
Comments