Living Alone: Week 3

Monday night I spent a two hours slaving over the stove creating a three-course meal for one.  By 8:00pm I was finished and enjoying my dinner in front of Desperate Housewives.  My menu this week: Pineapple salad (which means me, a Tupperware of pineapple, and a fork), Lemon Garlic Chicken with artichoke hearts over pasta, and a Apple Tart for desert.  This was served with sweet tea in a wine glass (I’m so classy J).  The one mistake I made with the chicken dish was that the recipe didn’t say whether or not to add the juice in the can of artichoke hearts, so I did.  And that caused the liquid in the pan to double and then I was freaked out by that so I just kept the pan on the stove for longer and let some of the liquid to cook out.  However, when I did that, it overcooked the chicken and caused it to dry out.  It’s still fine to eat and really tasty, but the chicken was just a teensy bit dry.  Since there was still too much liquid in the pan, I decided to whip up a box of pasta and let that be my base, which turned out to be perfect.  If you like artichokes and pasta and lemon and garlic (I adoreee all of the above) then you’ll love this dish.  I think it’s my tastiest yet.

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Artichoke Hearts over Pasta:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken meat, large dice
• 1 1/2 cups quartered artichoke hearts (canned or jarred - not frozen)
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup lightly packed thinly sliced basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add onion and garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring rarely, until well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and cook until slightly broken down, about 3 minutes.

Add wine, water, and juice and scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate any browned bits. Cook until alcohol smell is cooked off and sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in basil and lemon, and serve over pasta.

Credit:  Foodnetwork.com