Baked Chicken in Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Sauce

3KillerBs's Note:

Baked chicken in a flavorful sauce. Reduced fat. Fresh herbs. Easy to make. What’s not to like? After a short prep time you leave it in the oven until you’re ready so its easy to deal with an erratic family schedule or tardy guests. Enjoy!

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 8 thighs

• 8 chicken thighs (bone in, skin removed)
• olive oil (for browning)
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 cup chicken stock (see note)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 4 roasted garlic, cloves
• 1 cup milk
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• salt (optional)
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 lb egg noodles, cooked according to package directions

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Squeeze roasted garlic from the papery peels and mash well.
3. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet then brown chicken thighs thoroughly over medium-high heat. Work in batches removing each batch to a 13X9 pan in the oven as they finish.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Deglaze pan with sherry.
5. Add chicken stock (see note), thyme, and the roasted garlic. Simmer 2 minutes.
6. Add milk. Add cream cheese in small blobs.
7. Bring to simmer, whisking in the cream cheese until smooth.
8. Add salt (if using), pepper, and parsley. Whisk in Parmesan until melted.
9. Pour sauce over chicken pieces and return to oven for about 1/2 hour or until chicken thighs are thoroughly cooked.
10. Remove chicken to a serving platter. Toss sauce with noodles.
11. Serve with a green vegetable (I recommend broccoli or an Italian vegetable mix), or a salad.
12. Note: If you don’t have homemade chicken stock please use a quality soup base (I like Tones), rather than bullion, which is apt to be too salty when combined with the Parmesan.
13. Note: If you want a thicker sauce reduce the chicken stock to 1/2 cup.

Reviews

[Shawn C]

I loved the sauce in this dish. I used boneless breasts, and also used about a 1/4 cup of roasted cloves which I put into the mini chopper. I found that I can buy roasted garlic cloves by the bulk etc at Harris Teeter grocery store (near the olives and imported cheeses) which I loved the strong flavor. Thank you for sharing this great recipe

[stonecoldcrazy]

This sauce was delicious, I couldn't get enough! (I did add garlic powder to give it an even more intense garlic flavor) I used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs and it turned out great, cooking in only 20 minutes. Served with mashed potatoes and I'm saving some extra sauce to serve over pasta later in the week.

[FLKeysJen]

Hooray for the rich, garlicky alfredo-style sauce without any butter or cream! (I even substituted low fat cream cheese.) The chicken took a bit longer to cook than 30 minutes in my oven. Smart use of contest ingredients in an easy-to-prepare meal.