Tomato and Spinach Chicken Recipe

Sauteed in butter and quick to make, this Tomato and Spinach Chicken recipe is a perfect toss-together dinner for nights when you aren’t sure what to make.

It’s 3:42 p.m., and my three-month-old son Will is playing in his Exersaucer.

I am busy trying to write and send out some queries for freelancing work. There is a pound of defrosted chicken awaiting cooking. I took out the chicken yesterday without any plan for what to do with it, but now it’s time to whip it into dinner.

I do this a lot…choose the main ingredient without a plan. But it usually works out pretty well.

I’ve made some great beef roll-ups, some savory chicken fettuccine Alfredo and a memorable London broil. I’ve gotten to know my spices pretty well and have experimented with various cooking methods with positive results.

But no experimentation is without failures. My biggest failure to date was probably my first attempt at country-fried steak with gravy.

The gravy, specifically, was awful, disgusting and inedible. Instead of a smooth, creamy milk gravy it was a thick, overcooked gelatinous blob. Who wants to eat Jell-O gravy??? I won’t be using that particular recipe again.

Another major failure was attempting to marinate with red wine vinegar. I cut it with orange juice and even a touch of sugar but the result was too many competing flavors that didn’t come together. I was trying to create something tangy with hints of wine and sweetness. But vinegar in large portions is just vinegar and not a suitable marinade. Trust me … my eyes still water remembering the scent that lingered in my house for days.

Today I’m feeling like a bit of spinach and love how chicken tastes when sauteed in butter. And that’s how I came to this Tomato and Spinach Chicken recipe. Though I don’t normally keep canned spinach in the pantry, something about the image of Popeye throwing open a can made me curious about it. Plus, it’s the ultimate in budget-friendly.