Saturday, March 20, 2010

Impromptu Chicken

I almost ordered a pizza tonight. Both, my husband and I, worked hard around the house today and were pretty tired. Then I remembered I had some chicken in the fridge and decided to make Impromptu Chicken - a super easy recipe with only one iron-clad rule: Anything goes! Here's the recipe (well, here's today's recipe):

Start out with some boneless, skinless, chicken breasts. Cut each piece in half, and flatten them a bit with a mallot so that they'll cook evenly . . . or skip this step if you don't feel like it. I certainly didn't feel like it. Place them in a large pot with some extra virgin olive oil . . .

Add some garlic, fresh is better, but today I used garlic powder. Add whatever herbs and spices you like . . . Today I used Herbes de Provence because it's been in the pantry for a while and I wanted to get rid of the bottle . . . Add some salt and pepper . . .

Brown over medium heat on both sides. Add veggies, if you like. Today I added baby carrots that were leftover from John's birthday lunch last Sunday . . .

Cover and cook over very low heat for about 10 minutes. You want the chicken to steam and cook in its own juices and olive oil. Remove the chicken from the pot, raise the heat and continue cooking the carrots until tender and caramelized, about 3 minutes. I added some chopped sun-dried tomatoes that I discovered in the back of the pantry (I think we got it for Christmas in a gourmet food basket).

It was becoming apparent that the chicken wanted to go Italian today, so I also added some fennel seeds and put a second pot with water on the stove to cook some pasta. Place the chicken back in the pot and cook another minute or so . . .

Barilla Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti is so delicious your family won't believe it's also good for them. Top with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (I use Romano, it's a family thing). That's it! The entire meal was done in just under 30 minutes . . .

I'm basking in the glory of all the compliments . . . and now I won't feel so guilty about ordering pizza in the middle of the week . . .

Every good cook I know has a unique version of Impromptu Chicken. I'd love to hear yours . . .

6 comments:

Nicki said...

Looks yummy. I often do something similar - only using the crock pot. It has become a dear friend to me this winter. This beats pizza any day to me.

Barb said...

I have made something similar to that but never added sundried tomatoes. That sounds very good.

Suzy said...

wow your so good at cooking! It looks so yummy to!

Reds said...

Love your impromptu chicken! Looks delish!

Bobbi said...

Oh this looks soo yum! It has been such a foody day on the blogs, makes me hungry.

Angela2932 said...

Mmmmm, looks delicious! Because of the sun-dried tomatoes, I think I would have been tempted to throw in a few kalamato olives as well, if you had them, just for a little extra "punch." Yummm. I love food! I'll be right over to your house for dinner as soon as I finish typing this!