I just love spinach and artichoke dip, so when I saw this recipe for Spinach and Artichoke Topped Chicken on Joelen’s Culinary Adventures I knew I just had to try it! I had some heavy cream on hand after my ice cream making adventure, so I whipped up this dish.

Preparing the topping was quite easy, but it took a little longer than my usual routine of quickly seasoning chicken breasts with random herbs or salad dressings and tossing it in the oven. I had never thought to top the chicken breasts with something other than a simple sauce while they baked. I’m certainly glad I found this recipe.

The chicken was delicious! The creamy topping was rich and flavorful, and the chicken turned out very tender. This recipe will be going into my regular rotation, and I plan to experiment with other topping combinations.

Spinach and Artichoke Topped Chicken

For Chicken:
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt & pepper to taste or seasoning salt
garlic & onion powder to taste

For Sauce:
1/2 10-oz box frozen spinach
1 tablespoon EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), twice around the pan
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and halved
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (eyeball it)
1/2 14 ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
1-2 handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt and black pepper

For Topping:
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs for topping
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare your chicken by seasoning it to taste with salt, pepper, seasoning salt, garlic and/or onion powder (however you’d like) Place chicken on baking sheet.

For the sauce, begin by microwaving the spinach on high for 6 minutes to defrost.

Heat a deep skillet over medium heat with the EVOO and butter. When the butter melts and is hot, add the garlic. Using a box grater, grate the onion directly into the skillet.

Saute the onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the stock, then the cream, and bring the sauce to a boil. Season the sauce with nutmeg and reduce the heat to low.

Place the defrosted spinach in a clean kitchen towel and wring it dry. Separate it as you add it to the sauce. Stir in the chopped artichokes and a couple handfuls of cheese, then season the spinach-artichoke sauce with salt and pepper. Topped the raw chicken breast with spinach artichoke sauce.

Combine the panko breadcrumbs and cheese for the topping and sprinkle on top of the spinach artichoke sauce.

Bake chicken in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until juices run clear and chicken is thoroughly cooked.

When I married my husband, he told me that he did not like pork chops. This Spinach & Feta Stuffed Pork Chops recipe changed his mind! I found it perusing the Cooking Light magazine website a few months ago, and I’ve made it many times since. The addition of feta, sun dried tomatoes and lemon give the dish a lovely Mediterranean flavor, and the spinach keeps it full of veggies. It looks special enough to serve to company or on a special occasion, but start to finish it takes me about 30 minutes to make.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 4 garlic cloves, minced and divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil, diced
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 2 garlic cloves; saut? 1 minute. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, tomatoes, and spinach; saut? until moisture evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses and rind.

Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each pork chop to form a pocket. Stuff about 1/4 cup spinach mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper over pork. Arrange pork on the rack of a broiler pan or roasting pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Combine remaining 2 garlic cloves, juice, mustard, and oregano in a bowl; stir well. Brush half of mustard mixture over pork. Broil 6 minutes; turn pork. Brush remaining mixture over pork; broil 2 minutes or until done. (Broiling usually takes me more like 8 minutes on each side.)

Since the New Year, I’ve been making an extra effort to create a thorough meal plan for the week. In doing this, I’ve also been taking more time to flip through cookbooks and search out new recipes. During my last pass, two recipes caught my eye: Ellie Krieger’s Tuscan Vegetable Soup (from The Food You Crave) and Cooking Light’s Tuscan Chicken Soup (from The Best of Cooking Light: Everyday Favorites)

Both had some sort of tomato product, chicken broth, spinach, onion and cannellini beans. I liked that the Cooking Light recipe incorporated chicken and roasted red peppers, while Ellie Krieger’s had more vegetables. I combined the best of both worlds, adding mushrooms in place of carrots and celery and substituting dried basil and oregano for thyme and sage. In my house, you never have too many mushrooms or too much oregano! I was happy to have the opportunity to use my homemade roasted red peppers.

The finished product was attractive and delicious. Served with crusty bread, it was a perfect dinner!

Tuscan Chicken Vegetable Soup

Yields 6 Servings

1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 medium)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 10 oz)
1/2 cup diced roasted red pepper
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 15 oz. can plain no-salt-added tomato sauce (or diced tomatoes w/ juices)
1 cup diced, cooked chicken
1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach *
1/8 tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic minced)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano

1. In a small bowl, mash half of the beans with the back of a spoon and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, zucchini and mushrooms and saute, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender (about five minutes).
3. Add the broth and tomato sauce. Season with garlic powder, pepper, basil and oregano.
4. Add the chicken and whole beans. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium. Add spinach and mashed bean (stir well to dissolve). Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

* You can either heat the spinach ahead of time, or allow it to defrost in the soup.