Sunny Chicken with Shallots, Artichokes & Mushrooms

This dish came about when both the boys were sleeping (a rare occasion), I was by myself in the house (ditto) and I remembered one lonely chicken breast in the freezer. I took the opportunity to experiment, and decided if the boys didn’t like it when they woke up, they could just eat pasta.

Sunny Chicken with Shallots, Artichokes & Mushrooms

Makes 4 servings

1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 potato, diced

kosher salt

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

6 cremini mushrooms, sliced

½ can artichoke hearts, drained

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen green beans

juice from ½ lemon

buttered egg noodles

I heated the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat, and sautéed the shallot. I added the potato and stirred, then covered the pan so the potato would steam a bit and cook faster. I don’t mind a browned potato, but I did stir them every once in a while. Meanwhile, I (carefully) diced the frozen chicken breast, then added it to the pan, salted and stirred everything and covered it again so the chicken would thaw.

When the chicken was about halfway cooked, I removed the lid and sautéed everything more, then added the mushrooms and artichoke hearts. I added the corn and green beans, and squeezed half a lemon over everything. I stirred and replaced the lid again. When the corn and beans were heated through, I turned off the heat and waited for my egg noodles to finish. (should have started them just a bit earlier)

This was a good dinner, and fairly quick at just over ½ hour. Everything came from the pantry or freezer, and it ended up making 4 healthy servings, even without the noodles. (I bet you never thought a single chicken breast could feed a family of four!) The lemon and artichoke hearts gave everything a little bit of brightness, just a hint of flavor without overpowering.

I didn’t add spices other than salt this time, but I would be open to suggestions! What would you have done with these ingredients?