Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts with Creamy Lemon Sauce

By Mague

Ingredients

• lemon
• bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
• orzo pasta
• spinach leaves
• Greek Rub

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from pamperedchef.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cook chicken.
1. Cut lemon into four ¼-in. (6-mm) slices. Loosen skin from chicken by inserting fingertips under skin and gently pushing between skin and meat. Season with rub; place one lemon slice under skin of each breast. Place chicken in Deep Covered Baker; microwave, covered, on HIGH 7-9 minutes. Remove baker from microwave; carefully remove lid. Move center two chicken breasts to ends of baker and move outer chicken breasts to center. Cover; microwave 7-9 minutes or until Pocket Thermometer registers 165ºF (74ºC) and juices run clear.

Start orzo and sauce.
2. Meanwhile, cook orzo according to package directions in (2-qt./1.9-L) Saucepan. Place spinach into large Colander; drain orzo over spinach. Return orzo mixture to Saucepan. For sauce, zest lemon using Microplane® Adjustable Grater to measure ½ tsp (2 mL) zest. Juice lemon to measure 1 tbsp (15 mL) juice. Combine zest, juice, soup and rub in Small Batter Bowl; set aside.

Finish and serve.
3. Add oil to (12-in./30-cm) Skillet; heat over medium heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Remove chicken from baker, allowing excess juices to drain into baker; carefully remove 2/3 cup (150 mL) of the chicken juices. Add chicken to Skillet; cook 4-6 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Add reserved chicken juices to batter bowl; mix well. Add ¼ cup (50 mL) of the sauce to orzo mixture in Saucepan; cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Microwave remaining sauce 2-3 minutes or until hot. Serve chicken with orzo and sauce.

Cook's Tips:
Placing lemon slices and Greek Rub underneath the skin not only adds great flavor, it also makes a pretty presentation. The key is to keep the skin intact on one side of the chicken breast to hold the ingredients together.

Using pre-washed bagged spinach gets you ahead. Then, draining the pasta over the spinach in the large Colander saves a step in the cooking process.

Using the chicken liquid in the sauce intensifies the chicken flavor without opening a can of chicken broth.