Castellon's Kitchen: Chicken with Braised Carrots

March FLEW by and now look...April is nearly gone too! Where does the time go? I certainly haven't met my goal of blogging two recipes a week, have I? Sorry about that. I don't even have a good excuse other than things have been busy. Although, I admit I did work on a few Halloween dishes last week, so there is hope for me. One of the Halloween ideas turned out great, but the other one...well, it needs a little more work.
Anyway, back to this delicious Chicken with Braised Carrots. This is an easy, one pan dinner that comes together very quickly and is perfect for those busy weeknights. I've lightened this up for Spring by using chicken breasts and serving it over rice, but this is dish is the ultimate comfort food when served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes...or as my boys call them, Smashed Potatoes. :) I've made this with boneless skinless chicken thighs over mashed potatoes which is a rich and comforting dish that's perfect for a cool fall evening, or a cool spring evening! Whichever way you make it, you can't go wrong with savory carrots in a rich herbed sauce and Chicken. Enjoy!

Chicken with Braised Carrots

Serves 4

4 Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp.salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
4 carrots (I used multi-colored), diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup white wine
1/2 tsp. rosemary, dried
2 tsp. thyme, fresh
1 bay leaf
parsley, fresh chopped
salt and pepper (to taste)

In a shallow dish, add salt and pepper to flour. Dredge Chicken breasts in seasoned flour mixture, shaking off extra and set aside. Heat butter or olive oil in a large skillet. Pan fry chicken breasts until browned but not entirely cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
Add onions and carrots to same skillet and cook on medium high heat until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (~1 minute more). Add tomato paste and stir until vegetables are coated. Add wine, chicken stock, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf and heat on medium heat until vegetables are soft and liquid in reduced by half. Add Chicken breasts back into the skillet with the carrots and cook over medium high heat until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. You will need to add more time if your chicken breasts are very large. Cook until internal temp is 165 F.