Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Foil Pack Fancy Chicken

Allow me to apologize in advance if those post sounds all sorts of jumpy and excited. It's a bit of my state of mind right now as The Sheriff has napped long enough for me to take a cat nap, shower, blow dry and straighten my hair, and prepare dinner to the point of throwing it in the oven later.  He typically naps well but I wasn't expecting this as he slept later than usual this morning. I'm all fairy certain I just jinxed myself.

So I'm all sorts of happy to share a new recipe (cue the waking toddler...) which I am endearingly naming Foil Pack Fancy Chicken because it doesn't taste so run-of-the-mill chicken breast. To give credit where it's due, the recipe is from the Well Done Cooking Class I mentioned a while back, and it's name is Chicken Breast Baked in a Bag with Cannellini Beans, Leeks, Cream, and Oregano. That's a mouthful. I will consider the title designed to help you remember when grocery shopping!

Foil Pack Fancy Chicken

Ingredients (serves 1, yes ONE, so prepare ingredients accordingly for multiple packs)

1 Leek, white only finely sliced or 2 green onions diced)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 14 oz. can of Cannellini Beans, drained
1 Clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp Fresh oregano, leaves picked (OR 1/4 tsp dried oregano)
1 tbsp chicken stock
1 oz. Heavy Cream OR Half and Half
salt and pepper
1 handful of fresh baby spinach
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp EVOO

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Prepare aluminum foil packs by rolling out a sheet about 1.5 feet. Fold the foil in half and roll all the sides but one, about a 1/2 inch, TWICE. You now have a bag with one side open.



3. (Salt and pepper chicken!)
Place leeks (or green onions) and chicken in bag. Open can of bean, drain and smash some of the beans against the side of the can (bowl). Add them to the bag along with other ingredients.


(Note--see my chopped leeks? I think I chopped them incorrectly. Since I can't recall how they looked at our class, I'll catch an online tutorial on how to chop them next time.) So basically you just put all of that "stuff" into the bag.


4. Close up the final side, making sure there are no leaks. Place the bag on a roasting pan to catch any leaks that may happen. Cook in oven for 25-30 minutes (or until chicken reaches 165 degrees.)


5. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
6. Mix lemon juice and olive oil for vinaigrette. Place spinach on plate and drizzle vinaigrette over it. Add salt and pepper.
7. Open bag (watch out for the steam!) and place chicken and beans on top of spinach. Pour sauce over top and enjoy!


My own presentation is terrible! The food was delicious. Just a few notes:

-I used thinly sliced chicken breasts, and I think a larger piece would work better.
-I did not have fresh oregano and used the dried alternative. With a smaller chicken breast, it was a bit overpowering. I also needed to spread it out a bit more as it seasoned, well over-seasoned, just one hal of the chicken breast.
-You can also make this dish with tilapia or salmon. (I believe both suggested cooking times are about 15 minutes.)
-This dish is easy to prepare, healthy, and can be made ahead of time, maybe during nap time or before work, and cooked later which is always a plus. 

5 comments:

Meg O. said...

Oh, what a neat idea!! Looks yummy!

Danielle said...

That looks delicious!

Andie said...

I had to chuckle at your "cue waking toddler" comment because it's so true when you get a nice spurt of stuff done during nap time!

I also love how you call it "foil pack fancy chicken!"

Looks good! May have to give it a try!

The Femats said...

I will have to try this!!

Sarah @ Vol Family Life said...

Love foil chicken! I use it to make taco chicken all the time. I won't use it for anything else because I have to have my chicken "browned" or hidden in sauce. I bet I could add a bit of paprika though to combat that particular oddity.