Italian Sunday Dinner: Creamy Tuscan Chicken

Happy Sunday, my friends! What a gorgeous weekend we’re having in Atlanta! The temperatures have been cooler and drier here! Since it’s cooler out, I can finally wear leggings and shoes! I am cooking a creamy Tuscan chicken over pasta today for the family. My husband requested that I also make his Nanny’s carrot cake too. So I had better make sure my outfit better have a lot of stretch in the pants! Sunday dinners with the family are about comfort food and family recipes!

Fall is finally here, and my son and his wife took his girls apple picking on Friday. We used to go apple picking with the children in New Jersey when they were little. Hayrides, apple picking, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes were a part of our fall family traditions. Now my son is recreating this with his family. Another family tradition is serving best-loved family recipes that are not healthy. Of course, our grandmother’s recipes were never healthy, but they sure are DELICIOUS!

The Outfit

Because I am serving a high-calorie dinner, I need to wear comfortable pants with a lot of stretch in the waistline! Nothing better than wearing leggings with a long tunic top! This outfit from J.Jill is old, but I wear it a lot in the fall and winter. The top is one of my favorites and looks great with white jeans.

Thankfully J.Jill still has this legging available. The leggings come in 7 colors, and I have three colors sitting in my closet.

The Erin Shoes from Jambu

Do you buy identical shoes in different colors? For example, I have these Erin shoes in mustard, and I have the Erin Too in Pink. The Erin Too is also on sale!

I wore the Erin Too in this blog post.

The shoes are so comfortably stylish and come in 7 colors. The side bungee elastic makes slipping these on easy, with contoured arch support for comfort. I love the comfortable foam insoles for standing on my feet while cooking.

As a brand ambassador for Jambu shoes, you can get 20% off your next purchase of Jambu shoes using my code: ROBIN20!!

SHOP JAMBU SHOES

Creamy Tuscan Chicken over Pasta

This is the BEST Creamy Tuscan Chicken you’ll ever make! The recipe uses thinly sliced chicken breast, fresh spinach, flavorful sun-dried tomatoes, all swimming in a delicious creamy sauce. Everything comes together in just 30 minutes!

I didn’t add a salad recipe today because this is a one-dish pasta dinner. So just a hearty pasta dinner with my husband’s grandmother’s carrot cake recipe is all we’re serving on Sunday!

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• ▢2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
• ▢1/4 yellow onion diced
• ▢2 garlic cloves minced
• ▢1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil) thinly sliced
• ▢1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3 ounces Parmesan grated
• ▢2 1/2 ounces spinach leaves
• ▢salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Slice each breast in half lengthwise, so you have 4 thinner breasts.
• Season each breast on each side with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off any excess.
• Add coated chicken and sear in 2 Tb. of butter for about 3 minutes on each side.
• Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
• Melt remaining 1 1/2Tb. of butter and add onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes or until onions begin to cook down. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add sun-dried tomatoes and continue to sauté for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir cream into skillet and simmer until cream reduces slightly about 4 minutes.
• Stir Parmesan into cream mixture until smooth creamy.
• Add spinach to skillet and stir until spinach leaves have just wilted.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add chicken back into the skillet, spoon some sauce over each piece and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Serve over your favorite pasta.

Variations:

• Sautéed wild mushrooms can be incorporated into the creamy sun-dried tomato and spinach sauce to bulk it up.
• Torn kales leaves are a heartier alternative to spinach.
• Thinly sliced and sautéed strips of red bell pepper (or roasted red bell pepper) can use instead of sun-dried tomatoes.
• Fresh diced tomatoes can also replace sun-dried tomatoes.
• Swap the boneless, skinless chicken breasts out for large seared shrimp for a protein alternative for this dish.
• Add some heat to the dish with a couple of pinches of crushed red pepper flakes.
• Make this recipe gluten-free by swapping gluten-free flour in for the all-purpose flour.

Nanny’s Carrot Cake (J.Paul Getty’s Museum Carrot Cake)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. corn oil
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
2 c. shredded carrots (I add 3 cups)
1 c. chopped walnuts (I add more chopped walnuts)
1/2 c. crushed pineapple

Instructions:

Combine oil, sugar, eggs, flour, cinnamon, soda, vanilla, salt, carrots, walnuts, and pineapple in a large bowl. Mix until blended. Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Ice the cake with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
2 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 c. butter

Optional
1/8 c. crushed pineapple
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and butter until fluffy.

You can also add the crushed pineapple and walnuts at this time too. (That is the authentic J.Paul Getty Museum Carrot Cake recipe) I don’t.

Mix well.

More Sunday Dinners:

Italian Sunday Dinner: Chicken Fettucine Alfredo

Italian Sunday Dinner: Stuffed Italian Meatloaf

Thank you to Jambu for partnering with me on this post today. As always, all opinions are my own.

Mangia!