Well sure I could just call this Chicken with Feta Creamed Spinach, but really that doesn't do this dish justice. OK, stay with me... For a second, let your imagination run wild... Return to those maddeningly stressful first few months of married life when your spouse would make a last minute phone call letting you know that your new Mother-in-Law was coming for dinner. Sure, after years of marriage you have either fallen in love with her, learned to tolerate her or moved cross country so those phone calls don;t matter any more. But those first few months you cooked to impress like the rest of your married life rested on your skills.Or at least tried to.
This is one of those impossibly simple recipes that tastes like it took hours, has the illusion of healthy ingredients while being incredibly easy and reasonably fast. Of course starting with a store bought, fully cooked, fully seasoned Rotisserie Chicken helps, but she doesn't have to be told that part.
Keep scrolling down for this easy to follow recipe...
And the fancy baked Hasselback Potatoes, combined with the Olive Oil braised sweet onions are just as easy...
Ingredients
- Per Potato...
- 1 Medium Russet Potato, see first direction
- 1/4 Medium Onion, Sliced
- 4 TBS Olive Oil
- 2 TBS Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 pinch each Salt and Pepper
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
- OK, the trick is the Potato. CAREFULLY slice the potato into 1/2 inch slices, being careful not to slice all the way through... Just about 3/4 of the way (if you are really careful and slice 7/8 of the way through, the potato opens up like a fan when it cooks).
- Make an individual baking dish out of aluminum foil for each potato. Put the onion slices in the bottom. As you add oil to the potato, much of the oil will go to the bottom to braise the onions.
- Once you have a bed of onions, add the potato on top, cut sized up.
- CAREFULLY insert a knife edge, spreading the slices slightly apart without splitting the potato. add a quarter tsp of oil between each slice. Also add a tiny bit of cheese between each slice and continue until you have oiled each slice.
- Whatever oil is left, whatever cheese is left spread on the top. The excess oil will seep to the bottom.
- Seal the aluminum foil so that you have a pouch to steam the onion/potato.
- Cook for 50 minutes, check to make sure the potato has cooked all the way through. Continue cooking and checking as needed until finished.
- Serve HOT and ENJOY!
OK, Here's What I did...
OMG My New Mother in Law is Coming for Dinner
Chicken and Feta Creamed Spinach
Chicken and Feta Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
- 2 Medium (to serve 4 people) Chicken Breasts, removed as intact as you can from a store bought, pre-cooked, pre-seasoned Rotisserie chicken
- 1 Cup Onion, diced
- 2 Tbs Butter
- 8 Ounce bag Baby Spinach, stems removed
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- up to 1/4 Cup Additional milk to thin sauce if needed (2% would work fine)
- 1/2 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese
- 4 1/4 inch thick Onion Slices per chicken breast
- Drizzle of Olive Oil
- several Turns of a pepper Mill to taste
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
- First, make the sauce... In a heavy bottomed saute pan, melt the butter over medium high heat until just before it starts to brown,
- Add the Onion and saute for 4 minutes until softened.
- Add the Spinach and saute until just wilted
- Add the Heavy Cream, salt and nutmeg and saute for 5 minutes, until hot and the sauce begins to thicken. You want a runny sauce to cover the chicken breast. If needed, add 2% milk to thin the sauce.
- Make an aluminum foil baking dish. Put Onion Slices on the bottom, drizzle these with olive oil.
- Put the Chicken on top of the onion slices, top with the Creamed spinach. Top this with the Feta crumbles
- Seal the aluminum foil. This is very important as the chicken is already cooked. You want to trap the juices in the foil baking pouch so the chicken is steamed to preserve the moistness of the rotisserie chicken as it cooks.
- Bake the pouch for 15 minutes (up to but no longer than 30 minutes) so the chicken is completely warmed and the cream sauce remains hot and the feta melts.
- Carefully remove, slice as best you can and cover with any remaining spinach and sauce in the bottom of the pouch and cutting board.
- Serve HOT and ENJOY!!!
You have an hour, you can make both the potatoes and the chicken with sauce dish and serve to impress. Tell the old lady you cook dishes like this for your spouse everyday and that you will make sure her little darling will eat just this good for the rest of his life.
Cause this dish is indeed IMPRESSIVELY delicious. Moist and delicious chicken, exotically flavored with the Feta cheese and healthy with all of the vegetables/spinach.
With the easily obtained rotisserie chicken, this is a great dish for any surprise special occasion when you want to cook to impress!
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You get the idea. From Scratch Pizza to Chinese Take Out recipes, Lots of Soups and Chili... Appetizers to Main Courses (Still can't find a dessert, but I am looking). More than enough ideas for that store nought bird to shine with just a little extra work
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This looks incredible. I really want to try and make Hasselback potatoes soon too!
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