Tortellini with Chicken & Spinach in a Wine Cream Sauce

I made this dish up entirely on my own but I think it's good enough to share.  :-)  B and I were in Target and I was trying to decide what to have for dinner.  She wanted pasta but I knew I needed to work in a veggie and protein somewhere.  I also wanted a lighter sauce for it (plus B doesn't love jarred sauces).  Here's what I came up with:

Ingredients:
1 pkg Butoni fresh tortellini
1/2 pkg fresh spinach
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
Lemon
White Wine
1 tbsp fat free milk
1 tbsp flour
Garlic
Freshly grated parmesan cheese (for topping)
Salt
Pepper
Onion Powder
Olive Oil (about 1 tbsp)

Directions:
Lightly season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper & a little onion powder
Arrange chicken on a grill top (or skillet) and cook thoroughly (a few minutes per side).  Set aside.
In the same skillet, heat olive oil.  Add garlic cloves and cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring around so it doesn't burn.  Add spinach and wilt.  Once it's wilted, remove from pan and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a separate pot, start water for pasta and cook pasta according to package instructions (about 8-9 minutes to cook)
Add a little white wine (about 1/2 c) to the skillet and simmer.
In a separate small glass, add flour, a dash of water and the milk (make sure the milk isn't super cold).  Whisk with a fork until the flour is combined.  Then add this mixture to the skillet.  Stir around to blend.  If you need more liquid, repeat the wine, flour, milk and water steps.
Add juice from 1/2 lemon and a little lemon zest to the pan and stir.
Add back in the chicken and spinach and stir to coat.
Serve pasta in a bowl and add chicken mixture to the pasta.  Top with a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!
 
 

Braised Chicken in a Porcini Wine Sauce

I was looking for something a little different to serve (we have chicken - a lot!) and found this recipe.  We made it exactly how the recipe called for and it turned out delicious!  M compared it to a chicken marsala, which it did taste like, just made with chicken thighs instead.  It wasn't too labor intensive and could be done on a week night for dinner.

Starting to brown the chicken

All of the ingredients simmering together

Chicken back in with the rest of the ingredients

The final product

Ingredients:
3 (.5 oz) packages of dried porcini mushrooms
1-1/2 c boiling water
1 pkg (8 pieces, cut up) bone in chicken, skin on
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp flour, divided
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 c dry white wine
1/2 c chicken stock, hot
2 sprigs thyme
1 tbsp cold butter

Directions:

Re-hydrate the mushrooms by placing them in a bowl & adding 1-1/2 c boiling water; cover with plastic wrap and allow them to soften for about 15 minutes.  Once they are softened, strain the mushrooms out of the soaking liquid & reserve the liquid for later.  Set mushrooms aside.

Season chicken with salt, pepper & paprika.  Dust each side with a little flour. 

Heat 4 qt cast iron braiser, or large heavy bottom pan over medium high heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil.  Place chicken in, skin side down and allow to brown for about 4 minutes.  Turn chicken over and brown the other side for about 2 minutes.  Remove chicken from braiser and place on clean plate. 

Reduce heat to medium low and add shallots and garlic.  After about a minute, add in the mushrooms.  Use a wooden spoon to loosen any chicken pieces and stir around.  Add back in the chicken then pour in beef stock; reserved mushroom stock; wine and thyme. 

Cover and simmer on low for about 40 minutes. 

After 40 minutes, remove chicken and set aside.  Mix cold butter & 1 tbsp flour into pot and whisk together.  (We ended up needing more flour to thicken the sauce)

Serve with warm buttered noodles; topped with chicken and sauce.