What to do when all you have is chicken?

Once again, we ate everything up before I remembered to take a picture. Oh well, it was not the prettiest meal in the world but it was definitely yummy. I can tell it's a hit when the kids actually ask for seconds. We'd been trying to get through the week without going to the grocery store, so I've had to get creative with what I had on hand. The only meat left in the freezer, besides some pork neckbones I'm saving for an italian sauce, was chicken quarters. The only canned food I had was several cans of crushed tomatoes. Can't go wrong there! I turned the juice from the pan into a gravy with a quick roux, and it was really great over rice.

Baked Chicken with Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinegar

5 lbs. chicken quarters (or any chicken pieces, bone-in for juiciness)
1 can crushed tomoatoes in italian seasoning
balsamic vinegar
sea salt

Sprinkle chicken pieces with sea salt and about 1 tbsp per piece of balsamic vinegar. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Pour crushed tomatoes over the chicken, add another generous dash of balsamic vinegar to each chicken piece and continue baking until done.


Balsamic Tomato Gravy

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
liquid from the baking pan

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour and continue stirring until it makes a golden paste. Slowly add the juice from the baking pan, about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring continuously. When thickened, serve over rice.