A suprise party pleaser

The Wednesday before Christmas, we decided to host dinner and a small gift exchange with some of our dearest friends.  We opted for our place since I’ve got the GF kitchen.  I appreciate when my friends try to cook for me, and I’m trying to show them that GF doesn’t have to mean boring.  Especially now that I’ve worked this out that I can have a lot of fun with food.  I’ve been discovering the joy of roast vegetables, including butternut squash, beets, onions and cauliflower.  I decided to make Chicken Florentine with roasted butternut squash.  Now, me being me, I have this perpetual fear of not having enough food.  That’s how I ended up with an 18 lbs turkey for Thanksgiving when we were just having 3 people one day and a 6 the next.  But I digress.  I started looking at the two squashes I had peeled and chopped, and started thinking “Will this be enough food?”  Bear in mind, I was already stressing as I discovered the chicken breasts weren’t thawed and I only had 11 thighs for 6 people.  So I checked the fridge for what else I had.  I put another tray in consisting of carrots and onions.  That way I was sure we would have enough food.  Hopefully.

The chicken was being stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, and bacon in a thyme sauce.  The veggies were roasted with just olive oil, salt and pepper. And everyone loved it.  The veggies were a huge hit as well as the chicken.  My recipe for roasting veggies is simple.  Heat oven 425F, put them in for at least 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and let them sit in the oven until serving.  That makes them perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.  But here’s the recipe for the Chicken Florentine.  It’s from the Weight Watchers Cook it Quick, and it’s fast, GF, and extremely tasty.  This is my take on it as I hardly ever have ham in the house as called for in the original recipe.  I substitute it with portobella mushrooms, to get the same meaty texture.  Today I added the bacon as well that I had leftover from a roast chicken.  And while I suppose you could use frozen spinach, I’ve never tried.  I always use the fresh stuff.  It holds up well.

Chicken Breast Florentine

1 (10 oz) bag triple-washed spinach, rinsed (do not dry)

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (or more if you like garlic)

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

8 oz portobella mushrooms, chopped

1/2 tsp thyme

4 tsp olive oil

4 (1/4 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken breasts


1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)

salt to taste

lemon to taste

Heat a nonstick skillet with a bit of oil.  Put the mushrooms in, salt them lightly, and let them cook for about 5 minutes.  Remove from skillet.  Add the spinach, garlic and pepper.  Cover and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the spinach wilts.  Let the mixture cool and squeeze out the excess moisture.  Add the mushrooms and a pinch of thyme in and mix.

Cut a long thin pocket into the chicken breast.  Stuff the spinach mixture into the pockets, then press the edges shut and seal closed with a toothpick.  If using boneless skinless thighs, open the thigh up, spread the mixture out, roll it up and pin with two toothpicks.

Heat the oil in the skillet, then add the chicken breasts and brown, turning once or twice.  Add the wine, salt and rest of thyme.  Recude heat to low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Top with any pan juices and serve.