Basil Chicken & More

This all-in-one meal includes chicken and a combination of vegetables. The resulting meal wasn't just colorful, but tasted taste delicious too. The recipe came from Fresh, a monthly magazine distributed in Hannaford Supermarket, which is one of 3 major supermarkets in Nashua, NH — 2 more choices than we had living on the VA Eastern Shore. 

This publication contains a number of healthy eating tips and recipes. This was the first recipe I've tried and it won't be the last based on results. The recipe uses fresh ingredients, a big huge plus for us.

Some changes: the recipe serves 4; I halved everything to serve Grenville and myself a single meal. Instead of buying chicken tenders, I used chicken breasts sliced thin and then cut into strips. Adding a little extra fresh basil is a good thing.

Also, I didn't have the Hannaford brand House Dressing called for in the recipe. I checked online for the ingredients and whisked up a modified version. You could probably substitute an Italian dressing.

Basil Chicken with Succotash Salad
Serves 4. Total time 30 minutes.

• 1/2 C plus 2 TBSP water
• 8 oz green beans trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 ears fresh corn kernels cut from cob
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 lb chicken tenders, trimmed
• salt and pepper
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 C Taste of Inspirations House dressing or an Italian dressing
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh basil, bit more is OK
• 3 C fresh baby spinach

1. Bring 1/2 C water, green beans and cord to a simmer in a large nonstick skillet. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook about 5 minutes until vegetables are tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl, add bell peppers, toss to combine and set aside.
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Wipe skillet dry and heat half of the oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken and cook 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown. transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining oil and chicken.
3. Return remaining two-thirds of chicken to skillet over medium-high heat and add 1/4 C dressing and remaining 2 TBSP water. Cook, stirring often, until mixture reduces and coats chicken, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, stir in basil and cover to keep warm.
4. Add baby spinach and remaining 1/4 C of dressing to the vegetable mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and place chicken on top.

Serve and enjoy. Grenville gave this a forks up for another "keeper" meal.