Panko Chicken And Romano Sauce With Peas, Prosciutto And Apricot

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 chicken breasts
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing mix, packet-or blend from this site
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat okay)
• 1/4 cup butter (real butter)
• 1 ounce prosciutto, about 4 slices cut into ribbons
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream (fat free okay)
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup romano cheese, shredded (parm is a fine sub)
• 1/2 cup peas (i use frozen)
• 1/4 cup dried apricot, chopped

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 425°f.
• 2 place mayo in a shallow dish.
• 3 combine panko bread crumbs and ranch seasoning in another.
• 4 coat each chicken breast in the mayo then in the panko-ranch mixture.
• 5 place on greased baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes until done.
• 6 while the chicken is baking, start the sauce.
• 7 combine milk, half-n-half, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a 2 cup glass measuring cup, set aside.
• 8 in a medium sauce pan, melt butter over med high heat and sautee the prosciutto ribbons for one minute to bring out the flavor-use a slotted spoon remove and set aside.
• 9 in the same pan reduce heat to medium and add flour to melted butter and whisk for 2-3 minutes.
• 10 while stirring constantly, add the milk/half-n-half mixture. stir until combined and it begins to thicken-about 2 or 3 minutes.
• 11 note: if the butter/flour mixture is not hot enough when you add the milk, the thickening will take much longer. if it does, you can turn the heat up slightly while continuously stirring-just be very careful if you turn up the heat, milk burns easily!
• 12 once it has thickened to your liking, stir in the romano cheese until completely melted.
• 13 add prosciutto, stir to combine.
• 14 taste and add more salt/pepper/garlic powder if needed.
• 15 chop dried apricots and add to the pot along with the frozen peas. stir to combine.
• 16 if the chicken is ready, give the sauce 5 minutes to defrost the peas and reconstitute the apricots. if the chicken is not finished, reduce the heat to med-low until the chicken is done.
• 17 to serve, place one chicken breast on each plate and pour 1/2 cup sauce over the top.