simple cRAYvings : chicken florentine

Do you ever go out to eat at what should be a nice restaurant and after you receive your check you say, "wow, that definitely wasn't worth $12.95!"?  I have done that several times in the past, more than several...hundreds of times!  Growing up with such an awesome cook, my thrifty mother Trisha, I have learned that sometimes even the nicest restaurants can't quench your cravings like a good home-cooked meal.

Justin, my husband, and I recently went to Ruby Tuesdays (mainly for their salad bar and awesome, soft croutons).  I ordered the Chicken Florentine.  Needless to say, it looked pretty but that's about it.  It tasted bland, the chicken was barely cooked so it had a very moist, wet taste (in a bad way), and the creamy spinach topping was below par.  It inspired me to create my own Chicken Florentine!

I was very tempted to quickly look up a recipe on the Internet but decided to make up my own recipe and share with you.  Here is how I did it...

2 chicken breasts - cut in half (makes 4 tender size)
half jar of store bought alfredo sauce
2 cups fresh spinach
tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
fresh tomato

Brown the chicken tenders in olive oil or butter (your preference)

While the chicken is browning, in a pan melt the butter, and add the onion and garlic.  Let the pan get nicely coated with the butter, onions, and garlic then add the spinach.  Let the spinach completely welt down before adding the alfredo sauce.

Mix in the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.  You can add other herbs as needed like parsley or oregano...again, its your taste preference.

Once your chicken is fully cooked, you may plate your chicken, topped with a tomato slice and your yummy spinach sauce!  YUMMY!

As a side, I did steamed broccoli and carrots seasoned with salt and pepper with a little mozzarella cheese on top!

Justin and I agreed my dish was MUCH better than Ruby Tuesday's.  Not to mention the calorie count and price.  Ruby Tuesday's Chicken Florentine was over 750 calories per serving.  My version was approx. 300 calories per serving (2 tenders, two tomato slices, 1/2 cup of spinach sauce).

Let me know what you think....ENJOY!

Until later,

Brit