Chicken in Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

This year, I really lack any good new year’s resolutions.  Every year it’s always the same… eat healthier, work out more, and become a more positive person.  I end each year better than I started, another year down peppered with lots of good memories, especially 2014 with Annie being born.  Although I must say the first half of 2014 was tougher than I anticipated.  What should have been one of the best weeks of my life, the birth of my daughter, ended up being a roller coaster of a week filled with a lot of highs and a lot of lows for me personally.  Those initial months, we dealt with an extreme case of baby colic that put Aaron and I into operating in a zombie state of mind and feeling pretty defeated most days.  Then the last half of 2014 was really super awesome, life got a whole lot easier, routines/schedules fell into place, colic disappeared and there were an abundance of really happy, joy-filled days the last half of the year.  When I look back at 2014, I’m really blown away by our year...what a year!  And what I’m most blown away by most is how BLESSED our family is.  I’m just completely overwhelmed by how blessed we are it’s beyond what I can fathom on most days.  2014 is certainly a year I will never forget!

I have a few unique ‘resolutions’ this year and will attempt to adhere to a little better than I have in the past, one being to spend less time at the grocery store.  Silly resolution, right?!  It’s really crazy how many hours I spend at the grocery store and it’s a little ridiculous that half of my Saturday’s can easily be consumed by such errands.  I want to spend less time and better planning so I can attempt to only make my big shopping trip every 2 weeks and not so much every week.  And it’s totally do-able!  2015 for me is all about being more efficient so I can spend more time with the family I’ve been blessed with.

So long story short, my last grocery run I was mindful of planning some meals to get us thru the next few weeks and in doing so, I came across some real yummy new recipes that I want to share as they were that good!  First one up for this post… Chicken in Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce.  This was tasty!  Totally worth buying a few ingredients I normally don’t have on hand.  The one down-side was that it took far more time that I really anticipated it to take, hence a negative point for not being efficient with my time; it took an hour from start to finish, I'm more of a 30 minute meal prep gal myself.   Although I do think it would be a perfect meal if you are looking for something special to whip up for Valentine's Day.  I served this with brown rice and broccoli, a total winner you guys!

INGREDIENTS

4 Chicken Breasts

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 cup basil leaves, chiffonade

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.

Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan, thyme, oregano and basil.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet.

Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.