Chicken and spinach with balsamic tomato sauce

This recipe has had a long evolution in this house. I finally feel like it is just right! It started out as a healthy and quick weeknight option. My most recent addition was the polenta, which added a little time and few calories. While I definitely think both are well worth it, this recipe could be sped up and its calories lightened by leaving out the polenta or swapping in quinoa or your grain of choice.

Mixing up household staples keep cost down

We have some version of this almost every time I buy spinach. What you see above is actually 9-10 oz from a bag plus part of another of pre-washed spinach, chard, and baby kale blend. I picked them up for $.99 each since they were nearing their date. It still isn’t the greatest price per ounce, but there is no waste and they are already washed. If I didn’t have those, I would just pick up a bunch of spinach (under $1 at Caputo’s and Tony’s this week) or a 9-10 oz bag of non-baby flat leaf spinach (3/$5.00 at Meijer, $2.00 at Jewel). Polenta is ridiculously cheap in the bulk section of market stores. It is $.99/lb at Caputo’s and I probably used less than $.50 worth to make enough for four servings. Then there’s the everyday onion, garlic, and a pound of boneless skinless chicken breast. Hit up the pantry for a can of tomatoes, a bit of dry basil, olive oil, and balsamic. And if you are going for the polenta, you’ll need a couple tablespoons of butter and an ounce of parmesan. This ends up costing me about $5 to make.

Polenta, optionally delicious

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a heavy sauce pan. I like this rounded one because it is easier to stir and prevent corner-sticking. Add a teaspoon of salt, then a cup of polenta in a steady stream, stirring the whole time. If you don’t stir now, it will turn into a big lump!

Cover it and turn it down to simmer. Cook for another 30 minutes, stirring well every five minutes. It actually thickens right away, but that does not mean it is done. It needs to cook this long to get rid of the raw cornmeal taste.

Add an ounce of grated parmesan and two tablespoons of butter and stir until it is all incorporated.

Timing-wise, I like to chop the onion and garlic and if necessary, wash and trim the spinach before starting the polenta. Once the polenta is in the water, I go ahead and cook the chicken.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Once hot, season the chicken with salt and pepper and add it to the pan. I cut mine in to bite-sized pieces because it was one huge breast, but you could leave it whole, use tenderloins, etc.

Once the chicken is cooked through, set it aside, keeping it warm. I like to use two pasta bowls, as you see above. They are stoneware and hold in the heat better than covering a bowl with foil (and I don’t have to waste foil).

Add a diced small onion to the pan, which should still have oil and chicken juices in it. Cook until soft, about four minutes.

Add a clove or two of minced garlic and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds.

Add the spinach, stirring to coat with the oil.

Cook until it is just wilted. I was messing around trying to take a picture, so mine cooked a tiny bit more than I would like.

Set that aside with your chicken.

Add to the pan 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and any juices that have collected under the chicken.

Cook for a few minutes, until it reduces by about half.

Add a can of diced tomatoes, including the juice, and stir in a teaspoon of dry basil. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens a bit. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, start with a layer of polenta in a shallow bowl, add spinach,  chicken, then tomatoes and sauce, to your sauciness preference.