It’s always great to find things in your pantry in which you can pull together a dinner in a quick and easy way. The dinner I made last night was just that type of dinner. I had everything I needed, but the chicken (thawed, at least) so when I was at Trader Joe’s grabbing a few groceries I picked up a package of boneless, skinless, thin chicken breasts. I cook quite often using the thin chicken breasts, it only takes about 25 minutes to roast them in the oven.

I started with brushing olive oil over the chicken and then sprinkling it with kosher salt, pepper and Mediterranean seasoning. I placed the chicken in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. Check them at 20 minutes, they only need to reach 165 before they are done. I remove my chicken from the oven at 160 degrees, as it will continue to cook while it is resting.

This is the Mediterranean seasoning I use. There are many out there to choose from, so I’m sure you’ll find one you like. I think Cost Plus World Market has one, which I’m sure is fabulous as well.

While the chicken was roasting, I put together the “sauce”. I started by heating four tablespoons of olive oil. To that, I added 3 cloves of sliced garlic and cooked it for just 30 seconds. As soon as it became fragrant, I added a jar of marinated, grilled artichoke hearts and a package of sun-dried tomatoes. I sprinkled another teaspoon of kosher salt and added the zest of two lemons and the juice of one lemon (you will use the juice of the second lemon a little later) and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your angel hair pasta. Once the water is boiling, it takes only 3 minutes for angel hair to cook.

After the angel hair is done, I add it directly to the skillet with the artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon and garlic. Once the pasta is combined with the sauce, I squeeze the juice of the second lemon over the top).

Place your pasta into serving bowls, adding the cooked, sliced chicken to the top of the pasta, along with fresh parsley and crumbled feta cheese (I used fat free feta cheese). I also added a pinch of red pepper flakes to the dish before serving.

Ingredients

Chicken

3 thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Mediterranean seasoning

Sauce

1 jar marinated artichoke halves, not drained

1 3 ounce package sun-dried tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil

zest and juice of two lemons

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Garnish

fresh Italian parsley, chopped

non-fat crumbled feta cheese (or regular if you choose)

red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Brush chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and Mediterranean seasoning. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
3. Cook pastas according to package directions.
4. Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until it becomes fragrant. Add artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, zest of both lemons, juice of one lemon and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add cooked pasta to skillet, adding a little pasta water if you feel your sauce needs it. Toss pasta with sauce. Add juice of second lemon and toss again.
6. Place pasta in serving dishes, top with sliced chicken, Italian parsley and feta cheese. Also add red pepper flakes if you desire.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris