Olive chicken with Almonds

I didn't plan on posting this recipe, but DAMN it turned out good.

Over the years I've noticed that I dislike following recipes. I DO love taking neat ideas and creating my own thing based on what I've got on hand. It usually turns out great. I credit that to my mother. Thank goodness I've inherited that trait.

This dish was inspired by this recipe from Good Housekeeping. Love that magazine. It involves chicken, olives, and almonds. What a neat combination.

But did I go searching for pitted Castelvetrano olives? Hell, no.
And did I use up a sad zucchini and wrinkly grape tomatoes? You bet I did.
And it was a delicious, tangy dish that totally jived.

Olive Chicken with Almonds

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss into an oven safe dish:

1 clove of chopped garlic
1 stalk of chopped chive
1/4 c. olives (regular old olives with the pimento inside)
1/2 c. slightly smashed almonds

Top with:

2 chicken thighs
1 shredded zucchini (put on top of the chicken to keep it moist)
a drizzle of olive oil
a few halved grape tomatoes
salt and pepper

Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 175. (I love the meat thermometer.)

Serve over GF noodles with green beans.

Creamy Bacon Thyme Chicken

Hey, this is a good dish. Bacony, oniony, creamy... what more could you want? I was inspired by this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee:

A few strips of chopped bacon (I used turkey bacon. Full disclosure, it's not as good as real bacon but it's not terrible in this recipe)
1/2 red onion, chopped

After the bacon is browned and the onions are translucent, push the bacony onion mixture to the edges of the pan and add 2 chicken breasts. Brown on each side for a few minutes. Sprinkle with ground thyme. Add a small amount of water to the pan (about 1/3 cup) so the chicken doesn't get dry. Put it in the oven for 15 minutes, then flip the chicken breasts and cook for another 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken breasts from the pan once they're done and wrap in foil. Put them in the (turned off) oven to keep warm.

At this point, put a pot of water on to boil, if you're pairing this with pasta.

Put the skillet back over medium high heat and add about 5 chopped mushrooms. Cook those down until they look happy with the bacon and onion.

Sprinkle on 1/3 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese. Stir in 1/3 c. plain greek yogurt and a splash of milk. Add in some frozen peas, if you so desire. The end result should be a nice, creamy sauce.

Nestle the chicken into the saucy goodness, and serve over GF pasta.

This week's menu

Second breakfasts: Frittata

Sunday- Chicken pineapple fried rice
Monday- Black bean tacos
Tuesday- Pizza
Wednesday- Tuna Salad
Thursday- Vegetable soup
Friday- Spaghetti + broccoli

I usually do most of the cooking around here. Starting Thursday, I'll be recovering from a procedure and hubs is in charge of meals for a while. He's got some culinary skills, but I tried to pick easy recipes.

He'll most likely wind up taking creative control and I'm sure we'll end up with something gourmet.

Have a lovely week!