I found this delicious recipe in a recent issue of Cooking Light.  It's quick and easy and it's really delicious.  Chicken Breasts in Pancetta Cream with Peas is a keeper.  Crispy pancetta, creamy sauce and green peas all come together turning plain old chicken breasts into something special.

To be honest, I had actually not intended on blogging this recipe.  I needed a quick way to prepare some defrosted chicken breasts one night a few weeks ago. I turned to my recently purchased March issue of Cooking Light, saw I had all the ingredients for this dish, and made it.  I wasn't expecting it to come out so delicious...so after sampling the dish, I snapped a quick couple of photos.

As the recipe states in the magazine, if you don't have pancetta you can substitute bacon, but pancetta is pretty easy to find these days and it is so good!  The original recipe did call for mascarpone cheese, which I did not have, so I subbed reduced fat cream cheese instead with excellent results. I made just a few more minor adjustments, but really stayed pretty true to the original recipe.

If you are looking for something a little different to do with your boneless, skinless chicken breasts, give this recipe a try.  You won't be disappointed!

Chicken Breasts in Pancetta Cream with Peas

By Renee's Kitchen Adventures
Published 03/27/2014

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 1/2 ounces of chopped pancetta ( I purchased mine already chopped)
• 4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper, to your liking
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 cup white wine (whatever you like to drink is fine)
• 1 cup low salt, fat free chicken broth
• 2 TBSP reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature, cubed
• 2 TBSP water
• 2 tsp. all purpose flour
• 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Instructions

1. Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the olive oil and let heat up until it starts to shimmer. Add in the pancetta and cook until crispy. Remove the pancetta to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
2. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and the garlic powder. Add to the hot pan and saute for about 4 minutes on each side. (Chicken does not have to be cooked through at this point) Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
3. Add the wine to the skillet. Bring to a boil scraping the brown bits up from the bottom. Cook until the liquid is almost all evaporated. Return the chicken to the pan and then the add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and allow chicken to cook through. (about 6 minutes) Remove chicken from pan again and set aside.
4. Add the cubed reduced fat cream cheese to the pan and whisk in to combine with the liquid and allow the cheese to melt. In a small bowl, combine the flour and water and whisk together. Add the flour mixture to the pan with the cheese and whisk in. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Add in the reserved pancetta and peas and cook until warmed through. Add the chicken back to the pan and cover with sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (I breast with approx. 2 TBS sauce)
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 20 mins.
Total time: 30 mins.
Tags: chicken, dinner, peas, pancetta

Slightly adapted from Cooking Light. March 2014

Servings - 4   Serving size - 1 breast with approx. 2 TBS. sauce   Points Plus per serving - 9 P+
Calories - 387,   Total Fat - 17.9g,   Carb. - 7.7g,   Protein - 42g,   Fiber - 1.6g  

Printable Recipe

I took the nutritional stats from the magazine itself, so it's possible with substituting reduced fat cream cheese for the mascarpone, the total fat grams might be slightly lower, but I doubt it's significant enough to make that big of a difference since you only use 2 TBSP  

We really enjoyed boneless, skinless chicken breasts prepared this way.  I know I will be making this dish again soon.  With the peas, it reminds me of spring...something we just can't seem to get this year.  Warmer, or more seasonable temps I should say, are due for next week.  Let's hope the weather guys are getting it right!