4 chicken breasts
Marinade:
3/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
2 tsp. brown sugar
pepper (to taste)
Sauce:
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 c. balsamic vinegar
1 can (about 2 c.) beef broth
1 Tbsp. butter
pepper (to taste)
Topping:
12 asparagus spears
4 slices provolone cheese
4 slices mozzarella cheese (go to the deli section, they will give you 4 slices of each cheese. It's less expensive this way)
Place chicken between 2 pieces of Saran Wrap and pound until it is about 1/4" thick. Place chicken in a ziploc bag, place bag in a bowl big enough to hold the chicken. Combine marinade ingredients and pour in the bag. Squeeze all the air out of the bag and refrigerate for about 2 hours. About 20 minutes before chicken is done marinating, heat oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and saute for a couple minutes. Add remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes or until sauce thickens and reduces to about 1/4 of it's original volume (when it is done, the sauce should be dark brown in color).
While the sauce is simmering, place chicken in a lightly greased glass dish and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). While chicken is baking (you kinda need to know how to multi-task with this recipe.. haha) prepare the asparagus. Bring a saucepan, filled about half-way with salted water, to a boil. Toss in the asparagus and boil for about 4 minutes. Quickly remove the asparagus and drop in an ice-water bath. Remove chicken from the oven (when it's finished) and layer on one slice of provolone cheese, a few asparagus spears, then one slice mozzarella cheese on each piece of chicken. Set the oven to broil and broil for about 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and starts to brown a little. Right before serving, spoon some of the sauce over each piece of chicken.
