Yet Another Tuscan Dish - Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts And Cindy Update

When I saw the recipe for Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs on the “Café Delights” blog, I knew I had to make it.  But since my ladies prefer breasts to thighs, I made that substitution and I cooked six of them (three for this meal and three for leftovers).

Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts – Adapted from Café Delights

Ingredients:

For the Chicken

6 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp salt

⅓ tsp paprika

¼ tsp cracked black pepper

For the Sauce

2 tsp reserved sun-dried tomato oil from jar (more as needed)

1 small shallot brown (1/4 cup)

8 sliced baby bella mushrooms (Added by Larry as they needed to be used)

4 cloves garlic minced

½ cup sun dried tomato strips

½ cup dry white wine or extra chicken broth

½ cup low sodium chicken broth

¾ cup heavy cream

⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese fresh

1 tsp Italian seasoning

¾ cup baby spinach leaves packed fresh

¼ cup basil leaves packed fresh (1 tbsp Dried)

Instructions:

For the Chicken

Trim and Jaccard the chicken to get all equally thick pieces.

Season chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

Heat sun dried tomato oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Sear chicken in batches until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate, keep warm. (Larry kept it warm in a 155F toaster oven).

For the Sauce

Add the shallot and cook a couple of minutes then add the mushrooms and cook until browned a little. 

Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

Add the sun dried tomato strips and cook to release flavors, about 1 minute.

Pour in wine; bring to a simmer while scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.

Let simmer for 2 minutes, then add in the chicken broth, cream, parmesan and Italian seasoning (and 1 tbsp dried basil).

Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low-medium. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Stir regularly to melt parmesan cheese.

Taste test sauce and season with a pinch of salt and pepper, if needed.

Stir in the spinach leaves and let leaves wilt through the sauce. 

Return chicken to the pan; drizzle sauce over chicken and let simmer to an internal temp of 160F.

I served it over rice.

The Verdict:

We thought it was very good and Cindy called it a restaurant worthy dish.  I started to make more sauce and now wish I had increased it by 50% to have plenty for the meal and the leftovers (I had 6 pieces of chicken).  To avoid a store trip, I used dried basil but believe fresh should be used.

Cindy

After two plus weeks in the hospital and a step-down unit, Cindy came home from a left hip replacement that didn’t go as well as expected but she is thrilled to be home and ready for recovery to continue.  Her first supper request was for fish so I whipped up a batch of lemon, butter, caper crappie as everyone likes it.

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

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

Larry

1/19/25 event date