Chicken Provencal

This recipe intrigued me when I first saw it on Bella Lately's blog. I bought herbes de Provence once... I can't remember why. But I was excited to find a recipe in which to use it again!

(I didn't make ANY alterations - this recipe was perfect for me as is!)

The chicken was nice and tender and juicy. The flavors were amazing! It was really quick and easy to make; there's really nothing to it. As usual, however, my chicken needed extra time in the pan.


Ingredients:

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth and herbes de Provence; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat; add butter and lemon juice, stirring until butter melts. Serve sauce over chicken. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 2 tablespoons sauce)CALORIES 248 (30% from fat); FAT 8.2g (sat 1.8g,mono 4.5g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 40.2g; CHOLESTEROL 101mg; CALCIUM 32mg; SODIUM 376mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 1g Cooking Light, JANUARY 2005