Chicken and Chard

With the weather so hot the last couple of weeks, we became a bit neglectful with our garden. When I finally went out to weed and prune, my swiss chard was out of control !

I kind of grow the Swiss chard out of habit, it was something we always ate growing up. As a green, it has more staying power in the garden than spinach, which tends to bolt once the warm temperatures hit. And that's probably why we had it back in the day, so we could eat greens all the way through the summer. 

The problem with the chard, is that the stems are a little more stealthy than spinach, as are the leaves, so they don't always do well with a simple saute, unless you pick them when they are very young. I hate to waste anything, so I came up with a preparation that I could use the stems to flavor the leaves after I boiled them. It was really great!

Chicken and Chard

For the chard:

Large bag of fresh red Swiss chard (I filled my dutch oven to overflowing)

1/4 cup butter 

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 

Salt and pepper 

Start a large pot of water boiling. Remove stems and large ribs from the chard. Cut into one inch pieces. In a small saute pan, melt butter, and saute stems until soft. Add balsamic vinegar and let rest until leaves are finished cooking. When water comes to a boil add leaves and boil until tender, 8-10 minutes. Return to pot, and stir in stems. 

For the chicken: 

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning 

1 teaspoon lemon pepper 

1/2 teaspoon smoked salt 

Rub chicken breasts with seasons, grill on high 5-6 minutes on each side, until thoroughly cooked. Let rest 3-4 minutes then serve with chard.