Happy almost Spring! Why almost Spring? Because I’m SO over the winter and snow and not seeing grass! I’m so far past the point of over it that I pouted one day last week and had zero inspiration for dinner. Then I looked at Mr. POAB and I was all “what do you want for dinner because I can’t figure it out” and his response was “artichokes”.
Artichokes? That really wasn’t the answer I was looking for … it’s not really even a meal, it’s a food {one of his favorite foods mind you}. But I kept that in mind when I went to the grocery store and then for some reason I stared at a pepper too long and boom this popped into my head. And can I just say, it’s EXACTLY what you need right now. See, I’m so excited about this that I did the whole caps-lock thing on “exactly”.
Have I mentioned that this takes about however long it takes you to cook your chicken, is a one pan meal and has 6 ingredients including herbs + fat? So it’s quick, easy and filling and takes zero culinary abilities. The hardest part of this dish is opening the jar of artichokes. Yes, you read that right – for some reason jars, lids, caps, etc all have it out for me and I can’t open them without the “trying to open this dance”, swearing and then calling for Mr. POAB to save me.
But back on point – I feel like this dish has an elegant, decadent kind of vibe to it without the price tag, time, or headache of buying really weird / random ingredients! Which also means it’s perfect for date night, family events, friends over or any night of the week you want to feel just that little bit extra special. Can we go back to the date night thing – seriously people, this is PERFECT {there I go with the caps-lock again}, perfect I tell you for date night! Better yet you don’t have to run home and labor for 6 million hours over a special dinner – it’s special and pretty and “awwwwww” worthy with only 15-20 minutes of cooking! Welcome!
For the artichokes I do actually use the ones from a jar, I found some in my organic section of the grocery store that’s just artichokes and water I believe {it might have salt or something too}. But it’s clean, and it’s only $4.50 for the jar and it saves me hours of cooking + prepping them on my own – not to mention the jar gives 8-9 artichoke hearts and at the grocery store it’s about $1/artichoke. So it saves me some big money + time in the end! Just make sure you read the ingredients and check both the “healthy” section and the normal grocery store section – because surprisingly the healthy section had cheaper {and better} artichokes than the normal section!
Let’s talk peppers quickly – They’re normally really, really expensive for me – but the last few weeks they’ve had a three pack for the price of a pound of peppers. So make sure you look for those deals before you commit to any particular pepper. And you don’t have to use orange, they were just the cheapest this week – you could even mix it up and use yellow and orange or yellow and red! And if they’re on sale this week for you buy extra – they make amazing snack food and also taste great tossed into a skillet with onions and steak and lots of butter!
Note: In this dish, I didn’t want my peppers cooked all the way – I wanted the crunch still from them {because the artichokes have a softer texture, it balances really well!} If however you want your peppers cooked so they’re soft, make the step where you add your peppers in happen when your chicken is half way cooked instead of almost done!
Alright – I think it’s time for me to give you this recipe. And for the love of Spring make this for yourself this weekend! You’ll feel like you treated yourself to something extra expensive without it being expensive! Oh and – if you want to serve it with something, Mr. POAB likes this over rice because it makes a bit of a sauce – but I also think zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice would both be lovely here. Or if you wanted to make it extra Spring like, put it on top of a bed of lightly dressed spinach {I’d use lemon juice + olive oil!}!
Chicken, Peppers + Artichokes
Prep Time: 10 mins- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
Yield: Serves 2-3 people
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Pin RecipeIngredients
- Fat of choice
- 2lbs chicken, diced into bite sized pieces
I used chicken breast but you could also use chicken thighs here if that’s what you have on hand! - 1.5 – 2 bell peppers, washed + cut into strips
- 8-9 artichoke hearts, rinsed + cut into quarters
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Dried basil or favorite herb
- Salt + pepper
Instructions
- Get a big skillet heating on medium with your favorite fat, and make sure you don’t skimp on it – actually, go over board with it!
- Dice up your chicken and add it into the skillet, and let it start to cook. Top it with some salt + pepper, mix it about and let it keep cooking. I also like to add in some more fat here to ensure that it doesn’t dry out.
- While the chicken is cooking, prep your peppers and artichokes.
- When your chicken is 5 minutes away from being done, add in your lemon juice, peppers, artichokes, sprinkle of dried basil and some more salt + pepper.
I also here add a great big spoonful of fat – because that’s how I roll and I like butter! - Mix it all up, when the chicken is done taste test and adjust seasoning as needed!
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
If you want this to be more creamy and have a bit of sauce {which is how I like it}, make sure you add fat in when you add your peppers and if need be a little more at the end when it finishes!
I also think adding in some bacon fat to this dish wouldn’t be a bad thing at all! Or heck, you could top this bad boy with chopped bacon!
Happy Friday!
xoxo
Liz-
Hey Liz,
I actually picked up an artichoke last week to try making it but haven’t had anything to go with it. Any tips for cooking raw artichokes? I’m excited to try this recipe. You have some great ideas!
Heyy Danielle!
I’ve only ever cooked a fresh artichoke once, and I feel like it was a disaster lol – but I do know if you search the food network website there are a few different really well done tutorials! Oh and I would suggest watching a youtube clip too if possible just to see how they trim the leaves before cooking!
I will say totally have melted butter on hand for once they’re done, the bottom of the leaves have meat on them, and taste really good dipped in butter!
Hey!
I finally got around to making this and it was great!