My Own Spin...ach &Tomato Chicken

I was attempting to re-create a dish (from memory) that I ordered at a couple of different restaurants the past month or so. I'd been craving this dish, and eating at those restaurants can get a little pricey. Because I didn't have an exact recipe to follow, I just drummed it up with my very own spin. Let me tell you. I surprised myself. I actually think my version was way better suited to my taste buds. (and I didn't even use a white wine sauce) I truly didn't expect that. I thought this would, like everything else, take several tries to get it right. Because I went into this blindly as a test, I only made a small portion-only 2 chicken breasts. I think it's a rule of the universe that the smaller the portion available, the better it tastes. When you have more than enough of something, you just don't want it. Go figure.

As usual, there are no exact measurements here. Here's what I did in case you'd like to try it also.

Spinach & Sun-dried Tomato Topped Chicken Breasts

You will need:
2 chicken breasts (or more if you'd like)
  *I used boneless and skinless. However the ones I had in the restaurants had skin and bones.
lemon juice (about 1/4 cup)
paprika
garlic, minced or chopped
sun-dried tomatoes
garlic powder
salt
fresh ground pepper
parsley
cumin
oregano
basil
Panko bread crumbs,lightly seasoned with Parmesan cheese
olive oil
Kraft mayo
lemon pepper seasoning
baby spinach, rinsed
feta or goat cheese, whichever you prefer
foil
a frying pan
another pan for the oven if your frying pan won't hold up in the oven

I took 2 thawed and cleaned chicken breasts and put this in a freezer bag with the lemon juice, salt, pepper,lemon pepper,  paprika, parsley,cumin, garlic powder, ground black pepper, oregano, dried basil. Mix well. Seal the bag. Shake and massage. Let it marinade in the refrigerator for about 3 hours.
After 3 hours, drain the juice.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat the frying pan (I used a cast iron pan) to medium heat and coat with about a tbsp of olive oil. You only want to leave it on both side long enough to sear and brown.Not to be fully cooked. Remove from the pan.  Slather a thin layer of mayo on both sides of each breast and coat with panko bread crumbs. Toss it back in the pan.Cover with foil. (Careful not to burn yourself!) Let it bake in the oven until golden brown. This took less than 30 minutes I believe.

When the chicken is nearing done, fire up a skillet to medium heat. Coat the pan with olive oil. Toss in some minced or chopped garlic, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes. Saute' until spinach is dark shiny and withered. Turn heat off. Toss in cheese so that it slightly melts but not totally.   

Remove chicken from oven. Once on plate top with sauteed topping. As you can see, I placed mine over a bed of garlic butter basmati rice on this trial run. Next time I'll do this over a bed of pasta I think. 

This came out super tender and juicy for me. It seemed so perfect in the moment. I ate every single bite and wished I'd had leftovers the next night.

Good luck to you. As always, feel free to comment and let me know how yours turned out of you tried it.

~Until Again~

A Snow Day Experiment

I experimented on a snow day back in February. (Actually we had several snow days in a row--rare for the South East--and I got bored.) Here are the results. Definitely needs some tweaking, but it has promise.  Hey, you can't win them all.  Contains graham crackers, chocolate chips, white chocolate pudding, sliced fresh strawberries, a strawberry whip mixture, and chocolate syrup, and more chocolate. Once I perfect this "Strawberry Nevermind" I'll share an actual recipe.

~Until Again~