Skillet Chicken Dinner with Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  Today is your lucky day if you are feeling Irish, by chance sporting a green ensemble, or partook in one too many green beers and can’t muster the energy to think up an easy and fast dinner this evening.  It’s been quite the busy week and despite wanting to represent for the Irish and fix a corned beef with cabbage it’s just not happening around here.

I was working in my office yesterday when I received a phone call from HDD, “Tomorrow is Saint Patrick’s Day, right”?  Me:  “Yes, and your point is”. (Spoken with my eyes rolled back in my head.)  HDD:  “Are we having corned beef”?  Me:  “Hell no, it’s gross and you can’t have it anyways”.  (I thrive on my role as Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest, what can I say.)  HDD:  (Long sigh.)  Fine. Click. 

HDD found out he has gout a few years ago and when he eats certain proteins he gets a flare up and besides the limping around and complaining; I’m the one who really suffers.   So I’ve taken it upon myself to put some reforms into place and put us on a mostly vegetarian diet, with the exception of a little chicken or fish.  HDD has mostly gone along with the plan, but I sense he is headed towards a major breakdown soon.  All he does is drone on and on saying things like, remember how good barbecued steak is, or I could really go for some prime rib tonight.  Dream on Hot Dog Dude; dream on. 

There is an upside to HDD’s gout though; I’ve lost so much weight my mother has made it her business to tell me I’m getting too thin (like there is such a thing).  Also it’s keeping HDD on his toes because I told him if I do make steak he will never know if it’s because I’m pissed or just being nice.   

Chicken, Artichoke, Grains, and Sun-Dried Tomato Skillet

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1-tablespoon butter

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1-pound chicken breast tenders, boneless and skinless

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1-12 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained (discard liquid)

¾ cup shredded carrots

¼ cup sun-dried tomato strips, packed in olive oil

1 ¼ cups mixed grains (I used a mix from Trader Joe’s with couscous, quinoa, orzo, and baby garbanzo beans)

3 cups veggie stock

Add olive oil and butter to a 12-inch skillet and heat on medium-high heat. Once butter is melted add onion and let cook for 4-5 minutes until starting to get translucent.

Add the chicken pieces, salt, and pepper and cook chicken on one side for 3-4 minutes, flip and cook another 3 minutes. 

Spread the artichoke hearts, carrots, sun-dried tomatoes, and grains evenly over the chicken. Slowly pour the stock over the whole pan and bring to a boil.

Cover the pan with a lid; turn the heat down to medium and cook for 25 minutes.

Serves 4.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  I only wish I had a piece of this Irish Car Bomb Cake from Miss Katty to wash down my dinner tonight.

Gina

Chicken, Kale, Mushroom, and Cheese French Bread Sandwich

Do you ever just want something easy to make for dinner to compensate for lack of easy in your life?  I have my hand raised over here.  My weeks have been passing at warp speed, yet I still like to fix something for dinner I know we can sit down and enjoy together.  That is always a challenging task I might add considering my families diet seems to change on a daily basis.  

My normal self would say why not a six hour braised rack of something, but the saner version of me said, "How about just throwing everything into one delicious package!"  I kind of like her, I should probably listen to her more often.  I'm thinking she has a lot going on in the common sense department.

My mom always made a stuffed French bread sandwich for us with a ground, beef, spinach, and bread stuffing. My daughter really likes that version, but my husband insisted on grilling some steaks this weekend and he can only have so much beef (that is a seriously long story) so I decided to re-vamp the sandwich in a healthier way.

I was trying to sneak the mushrooms past my daughter, but she saw one and it was over.  I'm telling you, I'm thinking I'm just going to walk out to the curb and start giving away dinner to passer-byers instead of the rough regular customers I have.  If you share the same mushroom aversion as my daughter, feel free to leave them out.    

Chicken, Kale, Mushroom, and Cheese French Bread Sandwich
3 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small package baby portabella mushrooms or about 8, sliced
1 bunch kale, leaves only, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ounces Monterey jack cheese, diced 1/2"
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 loaf ciabatta bread or a regular French loaf

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.  Add 1/2 the oil to a large skillet and heat on medium-high heat for a minute or so and add the chopped onions. Stir and cook for 4-5 minutes until onions are starting to look translucent.  Add the garlic, stir and cook for an additional minute.  Add the mushroom, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add the kale and stir and cook until the kale is wilted.  Stir in the salt, pepper, and thyme and place the whole mixture on a plate.

3.  Place the skillet back on the heat, add the remainder of the oil and the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 4-5 minutes, you could also sprinkle the chicken with a little more salt and pepper at this point.  You don't need to cook the chicken through since you are going to cook it longer in the oven. Add the vegetables back to the skillet and add the cheese, stir until all the ingredients are combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4.  Cut the top off of the bread and remove the insides.  (I just set it aside for my daughter, turned out to be a good call).  In a small bowl combine butter and mustard and spread this mixture on the inside of the bread including the inside of the top piece.  Fill the bread with the chicken mixture.  Don't add all the liquid in the pan or the bread might get soggy.  Place the top piece of bread back on the sandwich.

5.  Wrap the whole sandwich in foil and place directly on the oven rack and bake for 40-45 minutes.

6.  Unwrap the sandwich and slice with a serrated knife.

You can easily get 4 good sized sandwiches.

I thought it was better than the original and healthier for sure; you will have to be the judge and let me know.

Enjoy,

Gina