Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

This week my little slice of the Midwest is blanketed in about 7 inches of the fluffiest snow I've ever seen.  Being a Georgia Boy at heart,  we couldn't resist the urge to brave the elements and take the girls out and play..  Brr!  Winter is definitely here.  Culinarily speaking, nothing yells winter to me like rosemary and citrus. 

This recipe serves 5, and takes around 30 minutes start to finish.

After breaking down a few whole birds this weekend (See this week's Random Thoughts), I have some chicken to cook.

For plating purposes,  let's start with the side:  Creamed Spinach

What you will need for the spinach...

• Baby Spinach...........................10 oz
• Heavy Cream............................4 oz
• Cream Cheese...........................4 oz
• Parmesan, grated.......................4 oz
• Kosher Salt................................1/2 tsp
• Garlic Powder............................1 tsp

 
What you will need for the chicken..

• Chicken Breast, 5 oz.................5 ea
• Rosemary, chopped fine...........1 tsp
• Lemon Zest...............................1 tsp
• Kosher Salt...............................1 tsp
• Garlic Powder...........................1/2 tsp
• Avocado Oil.............................1 tbsp.

How' it's done...

This is a tale of two skillets -  but first, set your oven to 350F.

Skillet 1.  Largest one you have, preheated medium low - to medium.

Add your heavy cream, and once it starts to bubble around the edges,  add your cream cheese.  (cutting your cheese into blocks helps with this step; as well as having it softened.)  Using a whisk,  or I'm a nut for a good ole' wooden spoon,  fully incorporate cream cheese with heavy cream..  It's going to look a little thicker than you think it should, but that's okay.  Incorporate fully, then add the salt and garlic powder.

Once you have that together,  throw in your spinach and things will come together quickly.  If you don't have enough room in your skillet for all the spinach at once;  add it in batches till it all wilts down.  You don't want to kill the spinach here;  Just til it wilts slightly.  Once wilted, grab a 1/4 cup measuring cup and 5 food prep containers.  Evenly distribute spinach into the containers using the 2 oz cups.  Grab a teaspoon and evenly distribute any remaining cream sauce into the container as well..  It should be relatively saucy.  This is a good thing for reheating.






Skillet 2.  Combine your spices in a bowl -  I added my zest an rosemary together and chopped them at the same time.  This will be a super fragrant spice rub.  Place your chicken on a sheet pan, and liberally season with the spice mixture.  Flip, repeat.

Have a hot skillet - medium to medium high -  ready to rock.  Add your avocado oil, and once you see the glisten of the oil;  you're ready to add the chicken.

Once you add the chicken to the skillet; Let it be!  You want to get a good sear, and you won't achieve that by moving it around.  Flip around the two minute mark, and repeat for another two.  After that, throw it in the oven. You'll want to cook your chicken breast till it reaches an internal temperature of 160F, and let carry over to 165F. 

Once finished, place on top of your spinach and you're good to go!  Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Creamed Spinach.


Nutritional speaking, this is exactly what I'm looking for calorically.  just over 400 calories.  The only downside to this dish is the abundance of protein due to the chicken breast.  If you're looking to up the fat, you could substitute boneless chicken thigh, and leave the skin on and this would be phenomenal.  I was using what I had on hand (hence me always using garlic powder instead of using fresh garlic.  Use what you have!) 



Thanks for reading everyone,  See you tomorrow.