Sunday Dinner: Spinach Artichoke Chicken

It's that time again- the Sunday dinner special.  Though it was a beautiful fall day we left the grill in the garage and I made a great new chicken dish.  I always think that chicken gets so boring and I'm always looking for someway to spruce up the plain ol' chicken breast.  I think this recipe fits the bill and it's perfect for a Sunday dinner or for company!  I hope you give it a try.  I served mine over pineapple rice.

Spinach Artichoke Chicken

Total time: 1 hour

serves 6

6 chicken breasts

1 package fresh mozerella cheese

1/8 c. grated parmesan cheese

1 package frozen chopped spinach

1 can artichoke hearts drained and chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1/4 cup Coffee Mate lowfat Original creamer

2 t. cornstarch

1 c. chicken broth

dash ground white pepper

dash ground red pepper

**preheat oven to 350 degrees

**use an oven safe pan

1. Sautee garlic, spinach and artichokes in EVOO for 3-4 minutes.  Season with white pepper.  

2. wisk cold coffee creamer and cornstarch together in a small bowl

3. Add creamer to spinach mixture and stir to combine, stir in parmesan cheese, cook 2-3 minutes

4.Cool filling in a bowl

5. pound chicken breasts until thin

6. mound spinach mixture on one end of chicken breast, top with sliced fresh mozzerella cheese

7. roll the chicken breast, wrapping the meat around the filling and secure with a toothpick (or 2)

8. heat 2 T. of EVOO in the same skillet you cooked the filling in.  Place the chicken seam side down in the pan.  Cook for 4 minutes or unti that side is golden brown.  Flip and repeat.

9. To finish cooking the chicken add 1 cup of chicken stock to the pan (leaving chicken in place) and place in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

10. remove from oven, slice and serve over rice.

Cozy up with a Chicken Pot Pie

I found a delicous recipe that I tried out this weekend: homemade chicken pot pie!  It was sooo good!  It calls for a homemade crust but I didn't have much success with that part and being the baker that I am I feel like something may be off in the recipe (I mean it couldn't be me right?! LOL)   I had a frozen pillsbury pie crust on hand so I used that instead and threw the homemade dough away.  Here is the link to the website where I found it.  They provide step by step instructions with pictures!  http://elise.com/recipes/archives/004089chicken_pot_pie.php

Here's my "TWEAKED" version of the recipe

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

1 rotesseire Chicken (meat pulled an diced)
1 package of frozen pie crust (rolled kind)

Filling ingredients

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 large onion, diced

3 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 potato (peeled and diced)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

couple splashes of white wine

3/4 cup green peas, frozen or fresh

salt and pepper to taste

Egg wash

1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water

Method

1.  Thaw pie crust dough according to package directions.

2.  Prepare the filling. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and potato and cook until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, one minute more. Whisk in 2 1/2 cups of the chicken stock. Whisk in the cream.   Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the chicken meat and dried seasoning salt and pepper and stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Fold in peas.  Divide the warm filling among six 10-ounce ramekins or one large pie pan.

4 Cut pie dough slightly larger than the circumference of the ramekins or baking dish. Lay a dough round on each pot pie filling. Fold the excess dough under itself and use the tines of a fork to press the dough against the edge of the ramekins. Cut a 1-inch vent into each individual pie. Use a pastry brush to apply an egg wash to each pie. Line a baking sheet with foil, place the pies on the baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.