I made this last night. I have to admit to two things:
Thing one: I followed the ingredients in the recipe exactly, but I did not follow the technique exactly. Since I was making it for a weeknight meal I couldn't bring myself to mess up any more pans, so I combined some steps in order to simplify. If I were making this for company or on a weekend I'd take my time and do it the right way, but for Monday dinner I really needed to just get it on the plate.
Thing two: I took two bites before my son had a meltdown, which necessitated my early departure from the dinner table. I didn't make it back to eat until about 9:30pm, after my plate had been sitting in the fridge for a few hours. I microwaved the whole plate to warm it back up. It still tasted good but I was sad I
didn't get to enjoy it fresh.
I cooked the orzo in one pot and did everything else in one pan. I prepared the chicken and cooked it in the butter/oil first, then removed to a plate to keep warm. Then I sauteed the garlic, tossed in the tomatoes and let simmer a while. When the tomatoes were cooked I added white wine and broth and let it reduce. Then I tossed in the spinach and covered the pan while it cooked for a minute or two. At the end I returned the chicken breasts to the sauce, put the slices of cheese on top, covered the pan and let it all rest off-heat just long enough to melt the cheese.
I'm sure I sacrificed a bit of the freshness of the tomatoes letting them cook longer than the recipe called for, and I know I sacrificed the browned bubble cheese that the broiler would have produced, but as I said, I just couldn't bring myself to use more pans or fire up the broiler. (I don't like my broiler much anyway.)
This is really delicious - and honestly, with the shortcuts I took it is easy to do for a weeknight meal! The spinach and tomato are wonderful and the cheese adds just the right texture and flavor to bring everything together. Yum yum.
I know it's the side dish here, but the Orzo was a HUGE hit. Mr. Fro LOVED it, and my children also gobbled it up. It was ready much earlier than I'd anticipated so it had to sit for a while. I ended up adding a bit of milk to it right before serving (really, just about a 1/4 cup) to loosen it back up. DELICIOUS and easy. I think this orzo side is going to be making many appearances in the future.
I didn't manage any photos last night. I did just go into the kitchen to see if I should photograph the leftover piece of chicken and sauce that was put away last night, but it doesn't look as pretty. Smells fabulous, though.
Thanks, tkit! Excellent recipe!!
