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skillet chicken with cheddar chive sauce

Afternoon sports, graduation parties, spring concerts oh my. This time of year is busier than can be. And all I want to do is play in my garden. The pea tendrils are pushing up out of the earth and reaching for the trellis just above them. The first row of mesclun mix is almost ready for the salad bowl. And the chives are budding up. Though I have a long list of chores to tend to in the garden, I haven’t been dividing clumps of daylilies and filling my planters. I have been off doing other things.green garlic, chives

 

I feel torn in a million directions. If you read the Healthy Seasonal Recipes newsletter, you know we are very busy around the house these days. And now suddenly, I am adding a new activity to my schedule. Running.

I haven’t run very much since I ran a half marathon last spring. And since I took on becoming a Les Mills GRIT coach in January, I think I have gone for about three runs. Total. That is, until last week, when a new friend asked me to run a leg of the Vermont City Marathon Relay on the 26th. Of this month! Even though I knew it was crazy, I said yes. Yikes! What was I thinking?! So suddenly I have been running like mad. I am sore.

skillet-chicken-with-cheddar-chive-sauce-194

Anyway, I want to tell you that this chicken rocks because it is fast and light and springy. It doesn’t take much time, and the whole family will eat it. It is like comfort food light. It is creamy and cheesy, but not heavy. The fresh chives and bright spring green garlic make it so lovely. Did I mention it is fast? I served it with barley, but mashed potatoes would be heavenly with this. I would go on but you get the idea and I gotta run 🙂

 

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skillet chicken with cheddar chive sauce

  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed (about 1 ½ pounds)
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped green garlic* see ingredient note
  • ½ teaspoon dry thyme
  • ¼ cup dry white wine
  • 1 ½ cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup non-fat milk
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup chopped fresh chives

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and pepper all over the chicken. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge chicken in the flour, until coated, shaking off excess and setting aside. Reserve ¼ cup left-over flour mixture and discard the remainder.
  2. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, but not smoking, add chicken to skillet and cook until browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate. Note chicken will continue cooking in step 4.
  3. Add green garlic or leeks, thyme and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt to the skillet, and cook, stirring until fragrant and starting to brown slightly, 1 to 3 minutes. Add wine, and cook scraping up any browned bits until the wine has almost completely evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved ¼ cup flour over the green garlic mixture and stir to coat. Stir in broth and milk and stir until the flour is dissolved. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, and continue cooking until the sauce is thickened slightly, about 1 minute.
  4. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet and return to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, turning the chicken over in the sauce occasionally until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and is cooked through, 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to serving platter. Remove skillet from heat and stir cheddar and chives into the sauce until the cheese is melted. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Notes

Ingredient note* Green Garlic is immature garlic plant and is available in the spring from farmers markets, CSAs and markets with a really good produce department. It has a distinctly garlicky flavor, but is not as strong as mature garlic. If you can’t find it, substitute 1 cup leek and 1 clove chopped garlic. Here is how to cut and clean a leek Do the same thing for green garlic.

Nutrition

  • Calories: 307
  • Fat: 15 g.
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