Chicken Cutlets with Tomato Saute

OK, time to start cooking some new recipes...  Crazy  work schedule or not, I'm sick of frozen food and leftovers... And new recipe ideas are starting to pile up again!

This recipe, from Real Simple, definitely lives up to that name: one pan, easy ingredients, 30 minute or less prep, fast clean-up.  Great for a busy weeknight meal and can easily be adjusted for ingredients you have on hand or picky appetites.

Recipe:
1  1/2 pounds chicken cutlets
kosher salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup dry white wine
4 scallions, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves
(The last two ingredients is where I took some liberty with the recipe - not liking green onions, I skipped those and not having any tarragon, I elected to throw in a couple handfuls of fresh spinach leaves instead.)

Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  In two batches, cook the chicken until browned and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side.  (Although, on my lame stove it was more like 4-5 minutes per side.)  Transfer cooked chicken to plates.

Add the tomatoes to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to burst, 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 2-3 minutes.  (I also used this opportunity to de-glaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits from cooking the chicken.)

(At this point, if you are following the original recipe, stir in the scallions and tarragon and serve with chicken.)  In my case, I added a couple handfuls of spinach to the pan, decided the chicken had cooled off a little too much, so I added that back to the pan, stirred the whole mixture, thought it was too liquidy still, then covered the pan and let it all simmer for about 3 more minutes.

Verdict:
I liked the changes I made; although, the overall dish did end up tasting a lot like this recipe.  Not a surprise since the ingredients are virtually the same.  Either way, it was delicious and simple and will be made in one form or another again.  I liked how the process was straightforward and flexible and that it didn't leave a sink full of dirty pots and pans.

However, the original recipe claims that this 'serves four.'  Not likely.  Four kids, maybe....  At best, the amounts described above make a decent meal for two with the possibility of enough leftovers for someone's lunch the next day.  It would be easy enough to have cooked rice, noodles, or potatoes to stretch the chicken dish a bit further.