On Saturday I was out for a meeting in town for most of the day. On my way back, I didn’t quite fancy cooking supper, but wonderfully an inspiration came and this “killed many birds with one stone”, not only using some of the veggies in the fridge, but the dish wasn’t at all stodgy. I cooked it in one pan and husband was singing praises as he ate it. Would you try it and drop me a note on the “Contact Me” page on the website to tell me what you think?
Easy cheesy chicken melts
2 large chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
150g mushrooms, I had Portobello mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 balls reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 level teaspoon each dried thyme, dried oregano, dried marjoram (or 2 teaspoons of dried mixed Italian herbs), hot smoked paprika, celery salt
Ground black pepper
Olive oil
Butter
– Rub the chicken breasts with the herbs, spices and pepper, set aside. Cut up the mozzarella into slices, set aside separately.
– in a oven suitable frying pan*, add a tablespoon of olive oil and saute the onion on medium heat. Aim for a light golden colour, softened and sweet. Add the sliced mushrooms, turn on high-ish heat to cook the mushrooms, you want some of some of their natural juices coming out and cooked off. This takes about 3-5 minutes, don’t let the mushrooms cooked down too much, you still want to keep some of their juices so the finished dish is not dried out. Add the chopped garlic, mix in with the onions and mushrooms and cook for a minute or so. Remove and set these vegetables aside. Now preheat the oven to 180c.
– Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a knob of butter in the same pan, melt over low to medium heat, then add the chicken breasts. Turn up the heat to about medium and pan fry each side until golden with a light crust, then top with the mushroom onion mixture (and any juices collected) before topping with the mozzarella. Take the whole pan and put in the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted over them.
– I served mine with a heap of sauteed tenderstem broccoli and asparagus as I’m cutting down on the starchy carbs. Green beans, kale, and any leafy greens are equally good. If you want to make this supper more substantial, mashed potatoes would be a satisfying side dish, too.
*If you don’t have an oven suitable frying pan, you can still follow these steps in a standard non stick frying pan, but once the chicken breasts have been pan fried to golden, remove them to an oven suitable dish, then top with the same as above before baking.
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