Creamy Dijon Chicken With Bacon and Spinach

While we no longer cook every Thursday for our friends, we still provide a meal about once per month.  For this one, we decided on using Kevin’s recipe for Creamy DijonChicken Thighs With Bacon and Spinach from his Closet Cooking blog which I had been wanting to make for a while.  Since I was making it for two families, I doubled the ingredients as shown below and so it could be delivered and then served hot, I turned it into a partially baked meal.  I cooked everything in one pan then divided it between two baking pans.  You can click on the above link for the original recipe and several pics like this.

Creamy Dijon Chicken - Adapted From Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

For The Chicken:

12 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tsp. Tiger seasoning salt

½ tsp. pepper

10 oz. bacon, diced – see note

For The Sauce:

4 tbsp. butter

2 medium onions, chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

2 tsp. each of dried thyme and dried rosemary

2/3 c. dry white wine (Pinot Grigio/Gris, Sauv Blanc, Riesling) -- substitute with low-sodium chicken stock or broth

3 c. half and half (thickened cream or heavy cream)

6 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. chicken base

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ c. Parmesan cheese

4 c. baby spinach leaves

Note: I find it much quicker to chop the bacon and fry it rather than frying slices then crumbling.

Instructions:

1. Season chicken with seasoning salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil (add more as needed) in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until lightly browned and at a 158F internal temp.  Set aside and keep each batch warm in a 160F oven.

3. To the same pan, add the bacon and fry until crispy. Transfer to plate, set aside. Drain some of the bacon fat, leaving about 2 tablespoons.

4. Heat butter in the pan and sauté onion until transparent. Sauté garlic, parsley, thyme and rosemary for about 1 minute until fragrant.

5. Add in the white wine to deglaze the pan while scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan; simmer until wine has reduced by half.

6. Add the cream, chicken base, and Dijon, mix through and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook gently for a further minute to allow the sauce to thicken.

7. Add the Parmesan and allow to melt through the sauce.

8. Add the spinach and allow to wilt.

9. Taste an adjust seasonings.

10. Add the chicken to two baking pans and top each with half of the sauce.

11.Top with the crispy bacon.

12. Serve immediately or cover with foil and when ready to eat, bake at 350F until sauce is bubbly.

I forgot to get pics of the finished version but this is my plate.  I laid down a bed of orzo, sliced and added my chicken breast, then topped with sauce and bacon.

Verdict:

As expected from a Kevin recipe, we all thought it was very good and would definitely make it again but use 50% more spinach.  Our friends also really liked it.  When I tasted the sauce, I thought it would be overpowering, but on the chicken it was just right.

The previous day was Pat’s (SIL) birthday and she requested one of her favorite meals – Chef Lea Ann’s Spicy Creamy Shrimp Pasta and once again it was delicious.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/02/21 event date