I got home late from appointments the other day but still had to get dinner on the table at a reasonable hour. So, being late, in the first place, I did not have time to stop by the grocery store. What to do in order to provide a meal for four, hungry people?
I checked the freezer and discovered four boneless chicken thighs. My mind started mulling over possibilities . . . I've found the best way to get started . . . is to start! I put a little olive oil in my trusty skillet, salt & peppered the chicken, and threw them in to sear on both sides. Since they were thin, even frozen, they cooked through quickly. I took them out of the pan, thinly sliced them, and put them back into the pan which I had not washed as I wanted to incorporate all the browned bits into my recipe in the making. I added a quarter cup of flour to the chicken pieces and heated it through to brown a bit and mix into the chicken. This will also prevent lumps forming. I added a can of chicken broth, 1/2 cup white wine, and cooked until the sauce started to thicken. That's when I remembered I had some pesto* in the freezer and added two tablespoons to the mix. I continued cooking it until it melted in, stirred in a half cup of freshly-grated Romano cheese and turn down to a simmer while I cooked a pound of pasta.
When the pasta was ready, I divided it among the plates, added the chicken sauce, and a small pinch of chili flakes, and a grinding of black pepper. My family said I had better remember how I made it as they wanted it again! I was pleased at getting a meal prepared with only four pieces of chicken.
*Pesto is Basil, cheese, and pine nuts ground together. You can usually find it in the refrigerated section of the store or, sometimes, in the pasta sauce section. I get mine from one of the warehouse stores. It is too much to use at once so I divide the jar up into ziplock snack bags and freeze them. That way, I have just the amount I need when I am trying to get inspired!
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