Something Old and Something New

So, recently I decided to try something new...or something old...

Let me explain.  I had seen a ton of recipes calling for herbes de Provence.  It was a spice blend I had never tried before.  Even though it had been around forever.  So, it was both old (since it wasn't a new thing) and new (since it was new to me).

And do you know what?  It's good to try new things!  Even when it's really an old thing!  Or especially when it's a good thing!  Because for the most part, it's the really good things that stick around for ages and the things that aren't worth it tend to just fade away.  And there's a reason that herbes de Provence has been around for a long time!  It's really tasty!

I tried a very easy, pantry-friendly chicken recipe.  You can easily keep all of the ingredients on-hand.  It was so flavorful and so good.  I think you'll like it...scratch that...I think you'll love it!

Chicken with Provencal Sauce

Ingredients:

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons dried herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Directions:

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.  Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add broth and herbes de Provence; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes).  Remove from heat; add butter and lemon juice, stirring until butter melts.  Serve sauce over chicken.  Garnish with thyme springs, if desired.

Recipe Note: a heady combination of dried basil, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, lavendar, and sage, herbed de Provence is a classic French seasoning.  Try it in other Mediterranean dishes, such as pasta sauce or baked black olives.

Source: Cooking Light, January 2005, Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. You can find it here.

Notes: I mixed all sauce ingredients together and added it all at once directly to the pan (without removing the chicken).  It would work fine as the recipe states.  But I tend to have bad luck with pan sauces for some reason and this is the method that works best for me!  We served the sauce in little dipping cups and dipped our chicken in it as we ate it.  It was really delicious!