Sunday, January 10, 2010

Chicken Breasts with Creamy Vegetable Topping


My mom bought me a new cookbook for Christmas, Quick from Scratch Chicken Cookbook from the publishers of Food and Wine magazine. This is the first one I've tried from it. I ate some of the topping on Ritz crackers and had to make myself stop! So you could conceivably use this as a dip for crackers too.
By the way, the veggies in the picture are another recommendation of mine--Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers. I had the roasted red potatoes, green beans, and rosemary butter sauce. They're almost as good as making your own side, and of course just need to be popped in the microwave.

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

1 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
8 ounces of cream cheese (I used Neufchatel, may try fat-free next time)
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
salt & pepper

1. Heat the oven to 425. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, then add the red bell pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add the carrots and green onions. Cook for 2 more minutes.

2. Take the pan off the heat and add the cream cheese, about 3/4 tsp. salt, and some black pepper. Mix it all up thoroughly.

3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and put 1/4 of the topping over each chicken breast in a oven dish.

4. Bake it at 425 until just done-- 20 to 25 minutes.

*The book recommends crisp and fruity white wine to go with this dish, as well as a simple vegetable to balance the creamy sauce. Their wine recommendations are rieslings from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany, or from the Finger Lakes in New York. (Or, you know... Franzia Crisp White!)
*Another note--since I live alone and will eat this for a few meals before I run out, I decided to just make the topping and store it in the fridge so that I can bake the chicken breasts one at a time when I'm ready to eat it, instead of microwaving leftovers. Much better!

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