Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Thighs

This is a skillet meal that tastes rich, but is light and healthy! It's pretty much like eating chicken thighs cooked in the infamous artichoke dip that is at every party.

Found this recipe on Instagram from @cafedelites - here is the link to her website!

Note: I don't have a skillet that is oven safe so instead of placing the pan in the oven, I transferred the chicken to a baking pan coated with tin foil (I folded up the sides a little so the sauce wouldn't escape). Anyone have an oven proof skillet that they would recommend? Help a girl out!

Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Thighs 

Serves 6

Ingredients: 

Cooking oil spray
6 skinless boneless chicken thighs (the original recipe calls for bone-in)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (9 oz) container of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 cup chicken stock
2 (9 oz) boxes of frozen artichokes, defrosted and roughly chopped*
4 cups loosely packed spinach leaves
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper to taste. Spray a large oven-proof skillet with cooking spray to coat; heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken, flesh-side down, and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown; drain any excess fat.

3. Stir garlic through and fry until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes). Add in cream cheese and occasionally stir it until it begins to melt down and become thinner in consistency. Pour in the chicken broth and add the parmesan cheese.

4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Stir in artichokes and spinach; simmer until the spinach has just started to wilt.

5. Place the skillet into the preheated oven and continue to roast for 15-20 minutes (or until completely cooked through).

Serve over wild rice or whole wheat pasta!

*Original recipe called for 1 (14 oz) can of artichoke hearts in brine/water, drained and roughly chopped.

Shrimp, Artichoke, and Spinach "Risotto"

      This morning I realized that it's been a while since I explored my Italian roots in the kitchen. So today I made a really delicious risotto with riced cauliflower instead of rice. This dish helped me remember how much I love the combination of spinach, artichokes, and cheese (Spinach Artichoke dip, anyone?). This was really simple to make- and quicker than traditional risotto because of the substitution of cauliflower rice for risotto rice. Traditional risotto is made with short grain arborio rice. Normally you'd' have to stand around and stir the risotto slowly as it cooks- for about 30 minutes or so. This dish took MAYBE 10 minutes- plus it's lower in carbohydrates, calories, and fat.
        I want to mention here that the goal for my recipes are not to be the lowest in calorie/fat/carbohydrate. I believe in eating a balanced diet consisting of whole foods, complex, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and lean proteins. I named my blog "Pretty Little Feast" based on the fact that I eat several small meals throughout the day. If you usually only eat three meals a day, this would not be enough for a full meal. You'd either want to increase the portion size, eat it as a side dish, etc.
      

Shrimp, Artichoke, and Spinach "Risotto"

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen spinach
4 frozen artichoke hearts
8 cooked shrimp (I buy mine at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods)
1 square frozen chopped garlic (or one clove of fresh garlic)
1 square frozen chopped basil (or fresh, or dried)
1 cup riced cauliflower
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

1. To rice your cauliflower, place florets in a food processor. Pulse until it resembles rice.
2. Heat a non-stick pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Place spinach, artichokes, garlic, and basil in the pan, cover, and cook about 5-7 minutes or until it is no longer frozen.
3. Cut shrimp into 3 pieces (or two, or leave whole- whatever you prefer). Add to the pan along with your cauliflower rice. Cook about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add nutritional yeast (or cheese) and almond milk. Stir until combined and allow everything to cook for about a minute or two.
5. Serve!

FYI- this is the frozen basil cubes I used: