Chicken with Tarragon and Quick-Roasted Garlic

Where oh where have I been?? It seems like every Fall, I fall off the blogging radar (I haven’t posted since August!).  But I’m here! And despite being busy with teaching (although I gave my LSU final yesterday…it’s officially Winter break for me!) and Saintsations, I still manage to cook plenty.

Cooking on my schedule can kind of put me in a rut sometimes…I eat lots of salads, eggs, fish, sometimes sandwiches and soups…all things that I’ve prepared at home…but I get out of the habit of trying new recipes. And I have SO MANY I want to try!

A while back, I went through my recipe binders and chose two new ones to make: Chicken with Tarragon and Quick-Roasted Garlic and Toasted Israeli Couscous Salad with Mint, Cucumber, and Feta .

For the couscous salad, I swapped the couscous for quinoa and added tomato…reminded me of tabbouleh without the parsley.

For the chicken dish, to up the veggie quotient (and because I LOVE LOVE LOVE them), I added mushrooms.

Don’t be tempted to swap the heavy cream for something else lower in fat…two tablespoons for the whole dish does NOT add too much fat. Promise!

Both keepers…and will become part of my repertoire for sure.

Chicken with Tarragon and Quick-Roasted Garlic
adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes 4 servings

3 large unpeeled garlic cloves
4 small skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup low-salt chicken broth (or water)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
8-16 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used 16…love mushrooms!)

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cover and cook until browned in spots and tender when pierced, turning occasionally, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer to work surface to cool.

Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Melt butter and oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate (do not clean skillet).

Peel garlic. Add garlic and wine to same skillet; cook until reduced by about half, mashing garlic finely with fork and scraping up browned-bits from the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Add broth/water and tarragon; simmer until liquid is reduced by about half, 1 to 2 minutes (this took longer for me). Add cream and simmer to sauce consistency, about 1 minute. Return chicken to skillet with any accumulated juices. Simmer to heat through, turning occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; spoon sauce over.

To now empty (still not cleaned) skillet add sliced mushrooms. Over medium-high heat, sauté until mushrooms release liquid and are lightly browned, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper and add to the chicken and sauce.

Notes – I served this with sautéed spinach…for some “green”; all of the animal products that I used were organic (chicken, butter, cream)

327 calories, 13 g fat (5 g saturated), 7 g carbohydrates, 1.2 g fiber, 44 g protein (exchanges: 2 ½ fat, ½ vegetable, 6 protein)