On a recent Saturday, the kids were tired from a late Friday night. So, rather than eating dinner together, we made an early kid dinner and put them to bed a little before 8. After they went to bed, we had a nice quiet, candlelit dinner for two.
As chicken and spinach were our dinner ingredients, they worked well for both meals. The kids were pleased to have grilled chicken breasts and a “no thank you” serving of spinach. (In our house, that is a petite serving, enough so that you are sampling but not enough to feel torturous for the child.)
For the grown-ups the chicken and spinach were combined into one entreé. I had never made chicken florentine previously, but decided that if I cooked it similarly to chicken cordon bleu, it should work. The meal was complete with a side of glazed carrots and a glass of cabernet-syrah. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night at home.
Want chicken cordon bleu in a simpler format? Try my recipe for chicken cordon bleu meatballs.
- 2 chicken breasts
- 5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1-2 ounces thinly sliced fontina cheese
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- 1-1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cube chicken bouillon
- parmesan cheese
- Place chicken breasts in between layers of plastic wrap, and pound until thin.
- Place a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of spinach on one half of each chicken breast.
- Cover spinach with slices of fontina cheese.
- Fold other half of chicken breast on top of fontina, and secure with a toothpick.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat.
- In bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper.
- Add butter to frying pan, and allow to melt.
- While butter is melting, dredge both sides of chicken in flour mixture, then place in frying pan. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.
- Flip chicken when brown on first side.
- After both sides are brown, add wine and bouillon to frying pan.
- Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Serve immediately, topping with grated parmesan cheese.
