This was one of those recipes that was meant to be. I had taken out 6 chicken breasts and the plan was to make homemade chicken nuggets…similar to Chick-fil-a.

Much like my Tuscan Garlic Chicken Pasta recipe, you’ll have tender chicken with a delicious, creamy tuscan sauce!

Place raw chicken breast into a bowl and pour milk and lemon juice over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. You can also do this in the morning, so that it’s ready at dinner time!

INGREDIENTS

• FOR THE CHICKEN:
•  1 cup flour
•  2 tsp salt
•  1 1/2 tsp pepper
•  2 tsp Italian seasoning
•  1 Tbsp powdered sugar
•  6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
•  1 cup milk
•  1 tsp lemon juice
•  3 Tbsp olive oil
• FOR THE SAUCE:
•  2 Tbsp olive oil
•  4 cloves garlic, minced
•  1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely diced
•  3 Tbsp cornstarch, divided
•  1 cup chicken broth
•  3 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
•  1 cup heavy cream
•  1 cup milk
•  1 tsp salt
•  1/2 tsp pepper (don’t skimp on this)
•  1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
•  1 box (16oz) linguine noodles

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place raw chicken breast into a bowl and pour milk and lemon juice over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. You can also do this in the morning, so that it's ready at dinner time!
2. PRO TIP: Did you know that soaking the chicken in milk and lemon helps it become more tender for cooking?
3. When ready to cook, create your chicken crust. In a pie plate, or shallow dish, combine flour, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and powdered sugar.
4. Drain chicken from milk marinade and dip into the flour, coating evenly.
5. Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium high heat. Place chicken strips in hot skillet for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and place onto a foil lined baking sheet.
6. Bake chicken in 350 degree oven for about 18-20 minutes.
7. PRO TIP: If you smash your chicken with a meat tenderizer before dipping in coating, this helps it become the same thickness throughout, resulting in more even cooking.
8. While the chicken bakes, cook your linguine (or favorite pasta) according to package.
9. To make the sauce, using the same skillet as the chicken, add additional olive oil, scraping the bits from the pan. Over medium heat, add garlic and sun dried tomatoes to the pan, heat for several minutes.
10. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp cornstarch over the tomatoes, and mix thoroughly.
11. Add chicken broth, whisk until combined. Cook for about 5 minutes.
12. In a small bowl, mix remaining cornstarch with milk and whisk. Add to the broth and continue whisking while adding in the cream, spinach, salt, and pepper.
13. Turn heat to low and simmer until sauce thickens and spinach wilts. Add in parmesan cheese.
14. Stir and heat on low until chicken and noodles are done.
15. Serve in a large bowl and enjoy.