So Many Dishes

I’m always leery of recipes that “take the internet by storm.” So, while I was intrigued by the name of the dish called Marry Me Chicken, I hadn’t seriously considered making the dish. But the variation I tried has made me a believer.

The original dish was developed for the magazine/recipe website Delish in 2016. When I first looked at the recipe, what stood out immediately was that the sauce was based on heavy cream. I love the taste of cream and the richness it adds to a dish, but the calories and fat content always make me reluctant to try recipes that rely on heavy cream. Sometimes I’ll substitute half-and-half, but it’s a compromise. Additionally, marry me chicken contains sun dried tomatoes, and Ken hasn’t been a big fan in other recipes I’ve tried. So I’ve always passed on this dish.

Then I bought the most recent cookbook from Gina Homolka, Skinnytaste High Protein. It contains a recipe for Marry Me Chicken and Gnocchi. Ken and I were both intrigued, and we decided to try it this weekend.

This is not a high protein-low carb cookbook. Plenty of recipes include a starch, as this one does. The introduction, which includes a section by a registered dietitian, talks about the importance of protein and how to calculate how much protein you need. Yes, it’s the macronutrient of the moment, but it really is an important and essential part of our diet. From past experience, I know that Skinnytaste recipes are healthy and well balanced nutritionally, but are still delicious. I hadn’t intended to buy this cookbook, but it was on the book table at BJ’s, and the price was right, especially considering that it was just a week after publication. I know I’ve posted several Skinnytaste recipes lately, but with good reason: they taste great.

The way this version of marry me chicken gets around the cream issue is to use a combination of half-and-half and reduced fat cream cheese. If this sounds like the combo in the fish Florentine recipe I posted recently, that’s because it is. Plus, Gina adds spinach to the sauce, so it made the dish even more of a riff on Florentine. This time, though, the sauce didn’t seem as thin. I wonder if it’s because there isn’t nearly as much spinach, so less water cooking out. On the other hand, the gnocchi soaks up some of the sauce, so that may account for the difference.

Speaking of gnocchi, Ken and I are huge fans. Ken’s mom made her own. I was introduced to the dish by my dad’s cousins. My paternal grandfather was from Italy, but my grandmother was Pennsylvania Dutch and, except for learning how to make homemade ravioli, never mastered Italian cooking. However, my grandfather’s sister and her daughters could have opened an Italian restaurant. Family picnics would start with hamburgers and hot dogs, but then the real food came out: gnocchi in tomato gravy, Italian sausage and peppers, lasagna. I made homemade potato gnocchi not long after Ken and I got married, and it was delicious, but a lot of work. So since we discovered vacuum-packed gnocchi in the market, we’ve made good use of it.

It’s definitely worth it to have everything prepped before you begin cooking this dish. It goes together quickly, and I was glad to have all my ingredients on hand and ready to go. It does require two pans: a pot in which to cook the gnocchi and a skillet to cook the chicken and sauce. Make sure that it’s big enough to add the gnocchi near the end.

Marry Me Chicken & Gnocchi

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (1-pound) package refrigerated or shelf-stable gnocchi
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oil from sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 4 cups packed baby spinach, roughly t
• 3 tablespoons 1/3 less fat cream cheese (1 1/2 ounces)
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more (optional) for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and the pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken and cook, flipping halfway, until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain well.

Meanwhile, in the same skillet, heat the sun-dried tomato oil over medium low heat. Add the shallot and garlic and saute until they become fragrant and translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until heated through, another 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the chopped spinach and sun-dried tomatoes to the skillet. Cook until the spinach wilts, 3 to 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low, add the cream cheese, chicken broth, half-and-half, oregano, and Parmesan. Stir until the cream cheese is fully melted and the sauce is well combined. Return the chicken to the skillet, along with the gnocchi. Let it simmer over low heat in the sauce for a few minutes, until heated through. Serve with additional Parmesan, if desired. Serves 4.

Happy eating!