Illinois Department of Central Management Services

October 2025 Recipes of the Month

Cooking Demonstration

Be Well Illinois hosts a variety of virtual cooking demos throughout the year. Among the most popular webinars are the live cooking demonstrations, which show you how to prepare simple, healthy and tasty meals. The live cooking demo will post on the Be Well Webinars web page.

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Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients

4 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 to 1-1/4 pounds total)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup dry red wine or water
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

Directions

If desired, place each chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with the flat side of a meat mallet to a rectangle 1/4" to 1/2" thick.
In a small bowl, combine paprika, oil, rosemary, garlic and pepper; mix well until it becomes a paste. Rub both sides of each chicken breast half with paste mixture. Coat a 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place coated chicken in prepared pan; cover and refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours.
Preheat oven to 450° F. Drizzle chicken with wine. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of the chicken registers 170° F and the juices run clear, turning once halfway through baking. (If chicken has been pounded, bake about 6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, turning once halfway through baking.)
Remove from oven. Immediately drizzle vinegar onto chicken in the baking pan. Transfer chicken to serving plates. Stir the liquid in the baking pan and drizzle over chicken. If desired, garnish with fresh rosemary. Makes 4 chicken breast halves.