Italian Chicken & Linguine

I made this the other night.  I hadn't made it in awhile.  I had forgotten how good it is but I quickly remembered how much I love it.

It's a recipe from a family friend, Gail.  Gail babysat my brother while my parents were at the hospital having me.  That's how long she has been a friend of my family.

Gail also happens to be a wonderful cook.  I always loved going to her house because she would always make such wonderful food for us!  And one time she made this Italian Chicken for us.  I've been making it ever since.

Italian Chicken & Linguine is chicken cooked with tomatoes and artichokes in a flavorful sauce served over linguine.  You can make it low-fat without compromising any flavor, which is one of the reasons I love it!

Start with the chicken.  Take four boneless skinless breasts and slice them into strips.  You'll get 3-4 strips per breast.  Lay them in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Open a can of diced tomatoes and drain most of the juice out.  Open a can of artichoke hearts in water and drain them well.

Sprinkle the tomatoes and artichokes evenly over the chicken.

Now for the sauce.  We're going to need a packet of French onion soup mix, Italian dressing, and white wine. 

I didn't have any white wine so I left that out.  But the wine does give it a yummy zing.  And here's where you can make it low-fat: use reduced-fat Italian dressing.  I've tried it using reduced-fat and full-fat dressing and I can't tell the difference.

So mix the dressing, soup mix, and wine together.

And pour it over the chicken!

Bake it on 350 degrees just until the chicken is done - it should take 30 minutes or so.

I love the way the whole artichoke hearts look.

Put some linguine in a bowl.

And use a spoon to pour over plenty of chicken, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and sauce.  It's all about the sauce, you know.

Sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese on top.  We saved calories with the dressing, after all.

And serve it with a bowl of fresh fruit.

Thanks, Gail, for the awesome recipe!

Italian Chicken & Linguine
Recipe From Gail Ramsey

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, mostly drained
1 15-oz can whole artichoke hearts in water, drained well
1 envelope French onion dry soup mix
8 oz. Italian dressing (regular or reduced-fat)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 pound linguine, cooked according to package directions

Slice each chicken breast into 3-4 long strips.  Lay the strips in one layer in a 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle the tomatoes and artichoke hearts on top of the chicken. 

Whisk together the soup mix, dressing and wine and pour over the chicken.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through.

Spoon chicken, vegetables and sauce over linguine.