I love giving simple gifts out to friends and neighbors and no matter how well I plan I’m learning I always forget somebody! Which means for me its a great idea to have a good stock of back up gifts waiting for such occasions. So I also hate giving gifts that no one uses and wonder what the heck they are going to do with, so how about a bottle of fabulous Pompeian olive oil? great idea, right? Everyone uses it, and paired with a spoon and an adorable custom label its a great neighbor/friend/almost forgot you gift! You can make 10 in just a few minutes and have them ready to go. Oh and I’ve got a great recipe to whip up for your holiday guests- this Chicken Milano is seriously delicious, totally restaurant worthy, guests will for sure ooohh and ahhh over it!
For the neighbor gift I went onto Pompeian’s facebook page and created a custom label with the recipe for the chicken milano sauce on it. It was simple and totally fun to add my own photo of the dish, you could also add a family photo which would be even cuter! I printed it out at home, cut it out and used double stick tape to adhere it to the bottle. So easy! I then paired it with a nice wooden spoon and ribbon and voila, great simple gift to give!
Now lets talk about this dinner, I’m still thinking about this sauce. Its so bright and flavorful, the sun dried tomatoes give it such good flavor that you’ll totally think a real chef jumped into your kitchen with you when you taste the finished result. If you have family coming in town over the next few weeks this is a winner of a dish to whip up for them. promise.
Aren’t those labels fun? I think they would turn out even nicer if I had gone to Office Max and had them printed there- laser color prints are so much brighter! but still even on my home printer its so cute!
Making this dish is pretty simple, after simmering the ingredients of the sauce you pop them in a blender to get it nice and creamy. I have a brother in law who says the secret to cooking any meat is the sear, and I have to agree. When you are cooking meat heat your pan to a little over medium, put your olive oil down and then sear those babies. You want to hear the sizzle, oh and don’t move them, let them cook for 3-5 minutes (depending on thickness) and then flip, but if you move it around you won’t get as good of a crispy crust on the outside of the meat that is oooohhh so good. 🙂
Chicken Milano
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup dehydrated sun dried tomatoes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon herb blend with rosemary, basil & thyme
- S&P
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pkg of fettuccini, linguine or angel hair pasta
Instructions
- Make the sauce- preheat a medium sauce pan over medium heat the olive oil, add the garlic and saute for a minute or so. Add the broth and the sun-dried tomatoes and let them simmer for 10-15 minutes. You want the tomatoes to be rehydrated and tender. Add the cream to the sauce and let it come to a simmer. Add it all to a blender and blend until smooth, or if you have an immersion blender you could use that. Put the sauce back in the pot and over low heat to keep warm.
- To make the chicken preheat a saute pan or saucepan to medium-high heat. Season the chicken with a herb blend, I used one tablespoon of the Demarle rosemary, basil and thyme blend and salt and pepper. Place about a tablespoon or more of oil in the pan and then place the chicken in. You want it to be hot enough when you put the chicken in that it sizzles. Depending on how big the chicken breasts are will determine how long you cook them but 5 minutes on either side is usually a good starting point. To get the browning on your chicken you want to not move the chicken around alot, just plop it in the pan and don’t move it until its time to flip.
- While your chicken is cooking cook your pasta according to package directions.
- When the chicken is done place the pasta on a plate and top with sauce and chicken. Enjoy!
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I hope your enjoying your December, its one of my favorite months of the year. I’m in the midst of present wrapping and card labeling and travel plan making! Its so fun. I hope your having fun to and enjoying the season!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pompeian.