This is the first of my own recipes I’m going to publish here. It’s one of the earliest recipes I ever developed. I’ve been cooking some version of this for close to 30 years. I developed it originally as a template to practice basic cooking skills, and it’s still a good one for that.

For the chicken and mushrooms:
~1.5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
~20 oz crimini mushrooms halved, or quartered if they’re big
3 Tb Olive oil (divided into 2 and 1)
2 Tb salted butter (divided into 1 and 1)
Good quality balsamic vinegar (I use the Whole Foods store brand 365 non-organic)
Kosher salt (either Morton or Diamond Krystal are good, but use kosher salt, not iodized table salt)
Fresh ground black pepper

Get a stainless steel pan good and hot on the stove top. If you don’t have stainless steel use whatever you have that isn’t non-stick. This recipe won’t work in a non-stick pan.
Add the 2Tb olive oil and swirl it around. As soon as it’s shimmery (which should be pretty much right away) add 1 Tb butter and let it foam and subside.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and toss them around to coat them with the olive oil and butter. Sprinkle some kosher salt over them and saute on high heat until the mushrooms loose their moisture and start to brown. This should take 20 minutes or so, and you’ll want to shake the pan every so often. The mushrooms are done when they’ve lost most of their size and are starting to look crispy and smell good. Take them out of the pan and set aside.
In the same pan (don’t rinse it), add the remaining olive oil and butter. Once the butter foams and subsides add the chicken. Spread it out so you have one layer and then leave it alone. You’re searing it, and it won’t sear if you mess with it. Just watch it. When the edges of the up side of the chicken start turning white instead of pink you’re getting close. This should take about 7 – 10 minutes, depending on the size of your chunks. When you see that happening consistently flip them over. They should be nicely browned on the side that was down. Add some kosher salt and pepper and let them go another 7 minutes or so. You’re looking to get a sear on the other side and cook them through. You can peek now at what’s happening on the underside. If you’re worried about them being done poke a piece or two with a paring knife. If the juice runs clear you’re good. Reserve the chicken with the mushrooms.
You should now have a pan with a bunch of stuff stuck to the bottom of it. Like this:

Those stuck on bits are called fond (I think that’s french). Now you’re going to deglaze your pan. Take your balsamic vinegar and pour a bunch into the pan over medium heat. Notice I said a bunch – that’s because I don’t know how big your pan is. You should use enough to have a nice layer over the whole bottom of the pan. It should start bubbling at the edges immediately. If it doesn’t turn the heat up a bit.
While it’s bubbling take a wooden spatula and scrape the heck out of the pan to pull up all that fond. That’s going to make your pan sauce. When you get all that stuff scraped up keep stirring and watch your liquid, it should be reducing as it evaporates and getting thicker. When you’ve almost gotten it to syrupy add your chicken and mushrooms back in (along with whatever juices have accumulated in the bowl) and toss to coat the meat and mushrooms with the pan sauce. Like this:

This should serve two adults or one adult and two elementary school kids
Sometimes I add a handful of chopped fresh spinach at this point, and wilt it. Mostly that’s about hiding green vegetables in something I know my kids will eat. I didn’t do that with these photos, but it’s a nice addition.

For the roasted broccoli:
20 oz broccoli florets (I buy them pre-cut – it’s lazy, I know, but it saves time and makes less of a mess).
Olive oil (I use the Whole Foods 356 brand, extra virgin Spanish olive oil)
Kosher salt
1/2 lemmon
Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Heat your oven to 375.
Spread the broccoli in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with foil, or use a pyrex dish.

Pour olive oil over the broccoli until it stops absorbing. You’ll have a shallow layer of oil in the bottom of your pan.
Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt.
Throw it in the oven for ~40 – 50 minutes. Start checking at 40 minutes. You’re looking for the florets to start to blacken and shrivel.
When the broccoli stalks are browning you’re set. Take the pan out of the oven. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan and squeeze the lemon over it. Serve with the chicken.