What's for Dinner: Crockpot Balsamic Chicken

There are so many people that enjoy getting dinner ready early and let it cook all day. Not only can you enjoy your meal when you want there is less to clean up. I've made a number of crockpot meals and this crockpot balsamic chicken is no exception.

I've also added an additional ingredient, mushrooms. So I hope the family likes it. Why did I pick this recipe? As always I look at my perishables and discovered that I had cherry tomatoes and mushrooms that should be eaten. I then looked up cherry tomato recipes and found a number of good looking pictures of recipes with chicken. I make sure I don't have to run to the store for any ingredients and then decide if I want to make any changes; like adding mushrooms.

Ingredients:

4-6 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
8 oz brown mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 med yellow or white onion, sliced thinly not diced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 
2 tablespoons minced garlic 
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon each of oregano, basil and rosemary 
1/2 teaspoon thyme 
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

The recipe doesn't say that you need to cook the chicken before adding it to the crockpot. I'm a little
skeptical and going to brown my breasts about 2 1/2-3 minutes on each side in a medium sized skillet (preheat skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil) on med/high heat. Then set aside. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom of the crockpot. Salt and pepper the chicken before adding them to the crockpot. Top the chicken first with the minced garlic and spread around then the slices of onions. Next are the dried herbs. Then the vinegar and finally add the mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook on high for 4 hours. Serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes or rice. Yum Yum!