Like every online recipe writer, let me start with a life story. Full disclosure: I used to be a terrible cook. In high school, the after-school meals I made for myself consisted of pasta, instant ramen or leftovers. I was always afraid of burning something or messing a new recipe up, so I just stuck with what I knew. When I got my own apartment for my sophomore year at Florida State, I branched out a little bit and forced myself to make real food instead of just endless carbs. Making complete healthy meals for yourself can be really tough as a college student, but I felt that I owed it to myself to feed my body with home-cooked goodness more often. It wasn’t until the end of my junior year last spring that I really started to feel like a competent cook that could be creative and resourceful with the ingredients I had on hand.
If you’re looking to build some confidence in your cooking and make something that’s not frozen Trader Joe’s dumplings, let me walk you through one of my all-time favorite recipes: creamy lemon garlic chicken! I found this recipe on Buzzfeed Tasty and modified it slightly to my tastes. The sauce is addictive, versatile and goes great with poultry, salmon and pasta. Best of all, it can be on the table in 30 minutes!
CREAMY LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN
Ingredients
- 1 package chicken (I use the boneless skinless thighs from Publix, but the original recipe calls for breasts.)
- 4 cups spinach (The spinach wilts down a lot, so use as much as you want! I love spinach, so I usually do 5 or 6 cups.)
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (I’m a parmesan gal so I usually use more…don’t judge me!)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tbsp paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika.
- Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a large oven-proof skillet (that means no plastic handles!) over medium-high heat.
- Place chicken pieces in the pan and sear both sides until golden brown. You’ll know they’re ready to flip when they come off the pan easily. If they’re still sticking to the pan, they need more time!
- While the chicken is searing, mince the garlic and juice the lemon.
- Set seared chicken aside on a plate.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan.
- Add garlic and stir with a wooden spoon until fragrant.
- Add chicken broth, heavy cream, parmesan, lemon juice and thyme. Stir.
- Bring to a boil (turn up the heat if you need to). Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Stir in the spinach and simmer until the sauce is thickened. Once you’re able to drag your spoon through the sauce and make a clear path, it’s done!
- Add the chicken back into the pan. Put pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Serve immediately over rice or pasta and enjoy!
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