Smothered Chicken

Ingy's Note:

You can microwave everything in the same dish, including the whole head of garlic; once cooked, the cloves are soft enough to mash and the taste is mild and sweet. Recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 large onion , cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 head garlic (unpeeled)
• 1 red bell pepper , ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• coarse salt
• ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a 2-quart microwave-safe dish, toss onion with oil.
2. Place garlic in the center, cover and microwave on high 5 minutes.
3. Stir bell pepper and tomato paste into onion.
4. Rub chicken with paprika and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper; place on vegetables, with the thickest part of breast facing edge of dish. Microwave on high 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked-throughout.
5. Remove chicken.
6. Remove garlic, slice off top, and squeeze cloves into small bowl.
7. Add mayonnaise and lemon juice; mash with a spoon.
8. Stir garlic into vegetables; spoon onto plates and serve chicken on top.

Reviews

[Chef by Chance]

I am always looking for microwave recipes as we are on the road for work a lot. I halved the recipe, and the garlic was a bit overdone. Even so, the taste was very good. Next time, I may pull the garlic out early.

[rsarahl]

This is OK, but there are a couple of things to know... The chicken doesn't garner much flavor in the microwave and would look naked without the paprika; it's really the "sauce" that pulls this together. The veggies and garlic get super soft, blend easily with the mayo and lemon juice to make a thick sauce. Could easily be thinned with a little water, more lemon juice or broth. What really suprised me was the garlic though and that, to me, is the gem of this recipe... in 15 minutes you have super tasty "roasted" garlic without much fuss at all! I would love to play with microwave times to do the garlic alone since I doubt it would take quite that long. Anyway! Good quick recipe. The sauce and garlic are definitely the keepers here. Through the sauce over lentils, beans, fish, chicken, pork, whatever! It would easily adapt to any protein for a quick and nutritious main dish.