Easy Chicken Dinner with Leftover Ingredients

Welcome to the blog today, friends!

Have you ever found yourself trying to pull dinner together at the last minute, with no real plan in mind? That was definitely me the other night. I had two chicken breasts ready to go—and that was about it. So, I opened the refrigerator and started looking for inspiration.

First, I spotted a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and a few mushrooms. Those went on the counter. Then I found some cream cheese and a container of already grated parmesan cheese. Onto the counter they went as well. A few heirloom carrots were still holding up nicely in the vegetable drawer, so I added them to the growing collection. And just when I thought I was out of ideas, I noticed a couple of golden potatoes that were perfect for rounding things out.

Sometimes, the best dinners start with a little bit of improvisation!

I drained the marinated artichokes and cleaned the mushrooms. Then I took about 1/3 of the mix and chopped them up quite fine keeping the rest of the mushrooms and artichokes in reserve.

Next I took about 2-3 ounces of cream cheese and added 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan to the cheese blending them together with a a fork.

Next I mixed the chopped artichokes and mushrooms into the cheese mixture.

After cutting a slit in the chicken breasts the cheese mixture was stuffed into the chicken breasts.

I mixed three tablespoons of olive oil with two teaspoons of Italian seasoning and brushed it over the chicken breasts on both sides. Then I laid the chicken into a cast iron enamel pan. the oven was pre-heated to 425 degrees.

While the oven was heating the carrots were prepared by scrubbing them with a vegetable brush and then cutting them into uniform slices about three inches in length. The carrots were added to the pan with the chicken and tossed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Then the pan was placed into the 425 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the chicken was 165 degrees internally.

When the chicken was done it was removed from the pan and placed in the warming oven. The remaining mushrooms and artichokes were added to the carrots in the pan and lightly tossed. then the pan was returned to the oven for about five minutes.

While all of this was happening I boiled the golden potatoes and then mashed them mixing them with milk and a little butter, salt and pepper.

Add a few parsley sprigs for garnish and then serve the stuffed chicken, carrot mixture and mashed potatoes.

It turned out to be a surprisingly delicious dinner, all made from odds and ends pulled straight from the refrigerator. The flavors blended together beautifully, and best of all—it was on the table, start to finish, in just about an hour. Not too bad for a meal that started with no plan and just a couple of chicken breasts!

Thanks so much for joining me on the Blog, today for this dinner of odds and ends. It was a bit of an adventure and it was so nice to share it with you.