Creamy Spinach and Red Pepper Chicken by The Pioneer Woman ~ Emily brown STYLE

martes, 5 de junio de 2018

Creamy Spinach and Red Pepper Chicken by The Pioneer Woman

I had the darnedest time figuring out what to call this recipe. I thought of “Creamed Spinach-Stuffed Chicken” but didn’t really like that I had to have a hyphen in the title. I thought of “Creamed Spinach Chicken” but that only told part of the story since there are also roasted red peppers and tomatoes in the sauce. I thought of “Red Pepper and Spinach Stuffed Chicken” but that totally denies the beautiful creaminess of this delightful dish. I thought of switching around the structure and doing “Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Creamed Spinach and Red Peppers” but that was way too literal. I do so much better when I can just keep a recipe title simple—like “Cauliflower Pizza” (not “Roasted Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Manchego, Fried Oregano and a Balsamic Rosemary Reduction. Though dang, that sounds good.)

Anyway, I did my best with the title. But just know that it bugs me!

And anyway…the title doesn’t matter one bit. This is a lovely creamy chicken recipe that may be a tad indulgent on the creamy side of things…but that’s also pretty low on carbs (relatively speaking.)

Dive in! The water’s just fine.

Start with some butter and olive oil in an iron skillet (or heck, any skillet) over medium-high heat.

Add diced onion and sliced garlic. Or, if you prefer, sliced onion and diced garlic. Or, if you are feeling rebellious, chopped onion and minced garlic.

Just some combination of onions and garlic would be peachy.

I talk too much.

Stir them around and get them started cooking…

Then add about a cup of sliced roasted red peppers. Now, I usually have jars of roasted red peppers in my pantry that are not sliced. In that case, I do something that may surprise you.

I slice them myself.

Always innovating here, always innovating!

Stir and cook everything together for 2 to 3 minutes.

Then throw in more spinach than you think makes sense, because it will shrink and wilt like there’s no tomorrow. (I actually added more than this before it was all said and done!)

Stir the spinach a bit, then add a bunch of diced fresh tomatoes (reserving a little of the tomatoes for garnish at the end.) Lower the heat to medium at this point.

(By the way, you could also add artichokes, mushrooms, lots of other yummy things to this sauce!)

Season this delightful mixture with plenty of salt and pepper…

Then, when the spinach has wilted, add some heavy cream…

And grated Parmesan. Tasty vittles!

Stir and let the cream thicken a bit…

Then grab a little softened cream cheese…

And add it in in chunks. Stir until it’s all melted…

Then remove about a cup of the mixture to a separate bowl and let it cool. Turn off the heat under the creamed spinach and set it aside.

Time to cut pouches in chicken breasts if you haven’t already! These are boneless, skinless breasts and I used a little paring knife to cut the pouch. If possible, you want the opening to be a little smaller than the area you cut inside. So once the knife is in there, just carefully move it from one side to the next…

Until you have a little pocket!

Lightly sprinkle the inside of the pouch with salt and pepper, then fill the pouch with the slightly cooled creamed spinach mixture.

Use toothpicks to securely close the pouch (if it’s too full to close, you’ll need to remove a little bit of filling. Don’t ask me how I know this.)

Keep going until you have all the chicken breasts stuffed and secured! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In another skillet over medium-high heat, melt some butter with olive oil. Add the chicken breasts top/smooth side down (because I just think they look prettier when you cook the top side first)…

Brown them on the first side for 4 minutes, moving them around to ensure even browning. Turn them over…

Then place the skillet in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through and the filling is hot.

They smell so good!

Warm up the creamed spinach mixture (and this would be a great time to check the seasonings; you want it to be adequately seasoned!) and place a generous amount on a plate.

Add one of the pieces of chicken…

Then use a spoon to retrieve some of the juices/drippings from the chicken pan and drizzle those over the chicken. The combination of the drippings and the creamed spinach is just splendid!