Spinach & Artichoke Chicken Bake with Roasted Tomato Slices

I pinned this recipe a few weeks ago because I thought it would work well with my GD.  I know The Man doesn’t LOVE artichokes but he does like artichoke spinach dip so I though he might like this.  I saw it again when I was trying to meal plan and since the weather was a little cooler I decided to try it.  Man, it is GOOD!  And it’s easy too, so that’s an added bonus.  Munchkin didn’t want to try it but she did and she ended up eating about half of what I gave her…that’s a win folks. 



You can check out the original recipe by Sarah (whom I do not know) on her blog.

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts
1 block (10 oz) frozen spinach, drained
1 jar (12 oz) Artichoke hearts, quartered drained (I rinsed them, that’s optional)
1 small container plain Greek yogurt
1/2-3/4 cup of light mayo (I didn’t actually measure, I just dumped some in. The recipe is forgiving!)
1/2 –1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (I didn’t measure the cheese, I just tossed it in. Extra cheese is always good!)
1/2-1 cup shredded Asiago cheese (you can also use Parmesan cheese)
2-4 oz softened cream cheese (it will be easier to stir in if it’s softened but if you forget, no worries!)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Greek Seasoning (Optional)

Steps:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1.  You can spray your pan if you want (I used an 8x8 for 4 chicken breasts) but instead I put olive oil on the chicken breasts. (I used a piece of glazed stoneware and while the dip part did stick to the top part of the pan, a 20 min soak in hot water then the dishwasher got it off with no problems!)  Salt and pepper the chicken breasts on both sides.  I also put Greek Seasoning on the breasts, but we add it to EVERYTHING, so it’s like salt and pepper to us.  We like the added flavor! 

NOTE: This time I left the breasts whole but they were large ones.  Next time I’ll either use chicken tenderloins or chunk the chicken instead.  I made a mess getting the chicken breasts topped with the artichoke and spinach.  Joey appreciated the mess and actually licked my floor clean.

2.  If you’re using full chicken breasts, bake them for 15-20 minutes.  If you’re using the tenderloins or chunked chicken, bake for 10-15ish minutes.

3.  Next we’re going to make the Artichoke and spinach part.  Since The Man doesn’t LOVE artichoke, I placed the artichoke heart quarters in a manual food processor (an electric one works too!) and chopped them up so there wouldn’t be as many large pieces.  Then I put the defrosted spinach in a colander and squeezed out the extra water.  Next,  mix the artichoke, spinach and the remaining ingredients up in a bowl.  I like to let it sit for a little but for the flavors to mingle.

4.  When the chicken is done from that first round, put the artichoke and spinach mixture on top, making sure to get it in between the pieces.  My pan was a little full but the extra was nice to have to dish up at the end.

5.  Bake for another 30-35 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken.  If you have chunks then you might need less time.  Your best bet is to use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is completely cooked (you want the internal temp of the thickest piece to be at least 180 degrees.) 

6.  Let cook 5 or so minutes and then dish up and enjoy!

I wish I had more photos for you but I didn’t decide to write this up until AFTER it was done.  Then we were super hungry and inhaled it.  It’s so good there’s no time for photos!

We wanted something light to go with it so I made some roasted tomato slices to go with it.  They were super yummy too!


Ingredients:
Tomatoes (we used delicious smelling vine ripened ones…so good!)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Grates Asiago (or Parmesan) Cheese

Steps:
1.  Slice your tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick and lay them on a cookie sheet.  I used stoneware so they didn’t stick.  If you’re using metal, I’d either oil/grease it or use foil.


2.  Sprinkle each slice with salt and pepper.  I used a grinder for both the salt and pepper, so I just did one turn over each slice.

3.  Sprinkle the Italian Seasoning over each slice

4.  Top each slice with some of the grated cheese

5.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.  I put them in for the last 20 minutes while the chicken was cooking and it worked out perfectly!

And then you have a super yummy side to go along with your chicken!  Both are gluten free and and worked well with my Gestational Diabetes diet.  I’ll be making this combo again soon.