Chicken Lombardi

Tuesday (if she doesn't decide to arrive before the scheduled C-section) my wife and I will welcome our second child, a girl. As the big day approaches, I've put together some meals in the freezer so we won't have to worry about cooking in the coming weeks when we are exhausted beyond belief. Of course, there are batches of Baked Ziti of various sizes, but we decided to see if I could duplicate another great fix-ahead meal.

In my wife's hometown of Salisbury, NC, a family friend has a catering company/restaurant called L.A. Murph's. Among other things, it has take-and-bake meals that our in-laws often bring when they come to visit, including when our son was born a couple years ago. One of our favorites is the Chicken Lombardi (or Lombardy, but I'm going with the Italian spelling). We've been thinking for a while that we need to make our own, so I decided to make it the other night and put a batch aside for after the baby comes.

Having never made this before, I searched for a simple recipe that looked like it would be good. I found one on food.com, and it turned out pretty well, though I made a few tweaks. So having given full credit to the original, here's my version:

Ingredients1-2 cups sliced mushrooms
4-5 tbsp butter, divided
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
flour
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese

Preheat the oven to 450.

Before you get cooking, you need to get the chicken breasts nice and thin. The best way is to cover them with a sheet of plastic wrap and pound them until about 1/4-inch thick. If you don't have a meat hammer/tenderizer, I've heard you can also roll them thin with a rolling pin.

Heat up a skillet over medium/high heat, melt 2 tbsp butter and saute the mushrooms. When they're tender, set them aside in a bowl.

Melt the rest of the butter in the skillet. Dredge the chicken in flour and brown (about 3-4 minutes on each side). Put the chicken in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with the cooked mushrooms.

Keep the skillet on the heat. Add the garlic and brown a bit. Pour in the wine and broth slowly (it'll steam, splatter and hiss). Scrape the pan to loosen up all the drippings, garlic and bits o' chicken, etc. Season with a little salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium/low and simmer for about five minutes. Pour over the chicken and mushrooms. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese starts to brown.

The picture below shows the dish before it's topped with cheese and baked. Some how I forgot to take a picture afterward. Next time I make it, I'll try to remedy that.

 

We like it with some rice (like a boxed rice mix) and veggies. You could also do mashed potatoes.

Like I said, I made a batch (and later another) to freeze for another night. Instead of using a baking dish, I used an 8x8 aluminum pan. I bought three of these for about $2 at the grocery store.

I suggest letting it cool a bit, then putting the shredded cheese on top. Wrap it up with a few layers of plastic wrap. Let it cool completely in the refrigerator, then put it in the freezer.

To serve it later, you're best off defrosting it completely, then following the normal bake instructions. If not, you can bake it longer and lower. Try 400 for about 45 minutes.