Recipe: Tuscan Baked Chicken and Beans

I know it's not very original that I copy recipes from Cooking Light to my blog. But I can't  help it. I love that magazine, and I love every recipe I've cooked from it! I can't help but share, so here's tonight's yummy meal. This is definitely going into our rotation, it was delicious and simple, and healthy!

Tuscan Baked Chicken and Beans

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half or 1 leg and 1 thigh and about 1 1/4 cups bean mixture)

Ingredients

• 1  (3 1/2-pound) roasting chicken
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3  slices center-cut bacon
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1/8  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 2  cups  packed torn spinach
• 1/2  teaspoon  chopped fresh rosemary
• 2  (16-ounce) cans cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Trim excess fat. Cut chicken into 2 breast halves, 2 drumsticks, and 2 thighs. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook bacon in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; chop and set aside, reserving drippings in pan. Add chicken pieces to reserved drippings in pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; set aside.
3. Add onion and 1/8 teaspoon salt to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Stir in bacon, spinach, rosemary, beans, and tomatoes; remove from heat. Arrange chicken pieces on top; bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40 minutes. Discard skin before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 307

Fat: 4.9g (sat 1.2g,mono 1.5g,poly 1.4g)

Protein: 36g

Carbohydrate: 30g

Fiber: 9.5g

Cholesterol: 91mg

Iron: 5mg

Sodium: 759mg

Calcium: 238mg

 

My  note: I basically cut this in half, but used one 10 oz. can diced tomatoes w/green chili because that's somehow all I had in the pantry. It added a nice subtle heat. I also kept the 2 cups of spinach, since it shrinks down to nothing when you cook it.

 

Cooking Light, October 2010