Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I haven’t been making meals at home much lately.  Lots of taking out, going out, vacation foods and eating holiday meals.  I’m trying to get back into meal planning, buying groceries for the week and hopefully feeling better.  We need to make the change from restaurant fare to home cooked meals.  That is my resolution for the New Year.  Just eat better.  I’m not going to be unrealistic and say I’m going to lose 10 pounds or run a marathon.  Who wants to set themselves up for disappointment?

This recipe is from a cookbook my mother-in-law gave me a few years ago called “Twenty Minute Chicken Dishes”.  If I had made this meal in one sitting, I think I would have been able to do it in twenty minutes.  But with a little guy around, I had to find a way to do some prep beforehand.  I made the sauce in a mini food processor (something I love having around), and kept in the fridge all day.  So all I had to do once we were ready to eat was pound the chicken out, cook it for 5 minutes per side, then warm up the sauce.  Easy.

Pouring this yummy sauce over chicken is but one of the many ways to use it.  It has great roasted pepper flavor, a nice creamy texture (without using any cream) and I think it would be great on beef, fish, vegetables and pasta as well.

This recipe serves 2 with some sauce leftover, probably enough for 2 more chicken breasts.  The sauce could easily be doubled, but I’m not sure if you could freeze it since it contains sour cream.  If you want to freeze the sauce, puree it without the sour cream, then add it in after thawing.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper
  • 1-2 tablespoons butter and 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 12-ounce jar roasted red (or red and yellow) peppers, drained and patted dry
  • 1/4 cup light sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons salsa (I used Arriba Garlic and Cilantro)
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil, cilantro or parsley (optional)

Directions

  1. Make sauce: Combine peppers, salsa, sour cream, flour, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in food processor or blender.  Blend until smooth. Set aside (or refrigerate for up to 2 days).
  2. Pound chicken to 1/2 inch thickness. Pat dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook chicken, 4-5 minutes per side, until done.  You may need to do this in batches if your chicken breasts are too large for your pan.  Remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil.
  4. Add garlic to pan, cook for 1-2 minutes, do not let it burn.  Add red pepper sauce, reduce heat to medium-low, and stir until sauce thickens slightly, 3-5 minutes.
  5. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with herbs and serve.