This post is pretty straight forward. I have a recipe that I really like, that I’m gonna share. Not a lot of story. It started with a recipe I found on Pinterest, and sort of grew from there. :)
Here’s a picture to pique your interest, followed by recipe and some step-by-step photos!
Level: Easy
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
– 2 pounds chicken breasts, cubed
– 3 cloves garlic, minced
– pinch of red pepper flakes
– olive oil
– a splash of white wine or white cooking sherry
– 1 cup chicken broth
– 1/4 tsp dried basil
– 1/4 tsp dried oregano
– 1/4 tsp dried thyme
– 1/2 cup heavy cream
– 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
– 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
– 4 oz. angel hair or thin spaghetti pasta
– 5 oz. fresh spinach, chopped
Tools:
– large pan
– large pot
– knife
– wooden spoon (or big stirring spoon)
– cutting board
– measuring cups
– grater (unless you buy pre-grated cheese)
Method:
- Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add cubed chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides. Remove chicken from pan, and set aside.
- In the same pan, toast garlic and red pepper flakes for a moment. De-glaze pan by adding wine, and using your wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan of the chicken juices and caramelization.
- Add the chicken broth, basil, oregano, and thyme, and bring to a low simmer over medium-low heat.
- While the seasoned broth is simmering, boil water for pasta. Cook pasta based on package directions, and drain, setting aside while you finish the sauce.
- Add cream to broth gradually. Add Parmesan and stir thoroughly. Mix in chicken, pasta, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir in spinach until wilted. Serve.
Okay, so not EVERY step is chronicled here, but most of them. I always like to know, when I’m trying a new recipe, if what I see is what I should be seeing, so I like to do that for you all, too.
So here you go! Brown that chicken!
Because the chicken pieces are fairly small, there is a possibility that you might over-cook them. I suggest browning them on a medium-high heat just to brown the sides, then turn the heat down to finish cooking so they don’t over dry. You can also put a lid on the pan, to help keep in the moisture.
Without adding any additional moisture to the pan, toast the red pepper and garlic with the brownings from the chicken. I don’t know if “brownings” is a word, but I’m making it one!
Splashing the wine into the pan will help to de-glaze the pan of the brownings, and create the beginnings of the sauce base. Use your cooking utensil to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all of the brownings off. The pan I used is REALLY nice, so it came right up without me having to really do anything. But I’ve made this on older pans, where it takes a bit more effort. Getting the above picture was not easy – so much steam! How do people take photos of in-progress cooking without getting oil or steam all over their camera lens? lol. I’m still learning.
Next step: add broth and herbs, then slowly add the cream, Parmesan, and sun-dried tomatoes.
While I was making this, I took off the lids of all of the dried herbs I was about to put in the pan, so I could measure them quickly. (I don’t usually measure things like this…I kinda just throw some in there. lol) As I went to put the lids back, I lost the inner, plastic, shaker lid to one of them, then also forgot which lid went with which herb. *facepalm* I had to smell them each several times to make sure the basil lid wasn’t going on the oregano lid. Thankfully, I’m usually cooking with both. But not always. Gotta trust my olfactory memory on this one! Maybe I ought to put the names on the sides of the bottles, too. Ha!
The above mosaic is the pan with the added fresh spinach, the spinach as it’s wilting, and the finished product with the pasta!
When adding the spinach, it will look like a lot – too much to fit – but it will cook down, I promise! I do recommend using a fairly large or deep pan – it can be hard to stir the spinach in when it’s still fresh. Baring that – add a bit at a time. Cooking the spinach down more isn’t going to hurt it, and cooking the sauce longer will only make it thicker, which is a good thing!
Once the spinach is cooked down, add the cooked and drained pasta, and let it cool slightly before serving! Letting it sit for a few moments will help the sauce thicken. :)
If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think!
The Crafty Raven 
This looks delicious! I’d appreciate it if you followed my blog as I have yours and checked out my Instagram (@madebybernadine). Here’s my latest post: https://madebybernadine.com/2020/10/22/all-the-chocolate-with-none-of-the-guilt-avocado-brownie-recipe-video-tutorial-included/ Have a great day!
Absolutely! Thanks for following my blog. Us bloggers have to help lift each other up! Let me know if you try this recipe!
Very true; thanks for your support! :)