Tuscan Garlic Chicken (It's Gluten-Free)

Tuscan Garlic Chicken 

I've been sitting on this recipe longer than I intended. I had the photos all ready to post. Then life happened. All good things...but busy things. I've made this twice in the last few weeks. Once for family. And a week or so later, I wanted to take a meal to a household that I knew was gluten-free.

Often when I take a meal to people it involves pasta or bread or breadcrumbs or cream soups. But this new recipe was perfect. And perfectly delicious. It's a pleasant change of flavors from my usual dishes.

If you are an Instagram user, you can find the original source of the recipe. She is easyfamilyrecipes on IG. I love her posts and have made several her recipes. 

As always, I tweaked it a little. And the second time I was in a hurry and skipped drizzling with the dried tomato oil. I pushed the cheese to the side a little and added it after the fact. It was fine. I like a recipe that can hold up to my mistakes.

The other thing I liked about this recipe is that it isn't drowning in cheese. I like cheese. I like cheese a lot. So it was hard for me not to add more. But this time I stuck to the 1 cup it calls for. And it made for a much lighter dish.

I wasn't sure what to serve as a side dish with this. Jessica was here the first time I made this. She suggested roasted potatoes. If you buy the "ready to cook" bag of little potatoes, that's really easy to make. And it was a good combination with the flavors of the chicken dish.

This is so easy to make. Putting it together only takes a few minutes. I'm happy to have a completely new dish in my recipe box.

TUSCAN GARLIC CHICKEN

2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 breast halves)

1 cloves garlic (mine was large)

Salt & pepper

2 oz. fresh baby spinach (I used a big handful)

14-oz can or jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

8.5 oz jar sun dried tomatoes, drained (reserving 1 tbsp oil) and chopped

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 375.º

Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Lay the chicken pieces flat in the dish. Season with salt & pepper and press garlic and spread it evenly over the chicken.

Place spinach, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes over the top. Drizzle the tablespoon of reserved oil over the top. Sprinkle the cheese over all. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes total. Cook the first 20 minutes uncovered, the lay a sheet of foil loosely over the dish and continue baking for the remaining time, 25-30 minutes, or until chicken reaches 165º internal temp.

MY NOTES:  

• She called for 2 cloves of fresh garlic. I did that the first time and it was really garlicky. One large clove was enough for us. 
• I only used half a jar of tomatoes. It looked like enough. If you love them, add them all! 
• The chicken breasts I bought the second time were huge. I cut off the little side piece (you can see the divide) and made chicken tenders, which I baked with a simple seasoning. The family getting this meal included a young child and I thought simple might suit him better. The report was he gobbled the chicken and potatoes!
• I think this would be a good dish for our book club but four chicken breasts won't work if we are all there. It might have been in the original recipe on her blog where I read that you could also use chunks of chicken. I might use a little more chicken, enough to cover the bottom of the dish.