Parmesan Chicken with Artichoke Hearts — A Mid-Week Pan Sauce for the Mother’s Day Build-Up

Early May. Nineteen weeks pregnant. The anatomy scan was Wednesday. The baby is a boy. He is healthy. The OB measured every bone, every chamber, every organ system, and confirmed no abnormalities. Dustin and I cried in the parking lot afterward in the truck. We had agreed to keep the sex private through Sunday so we could tell the family in person at Mama’s Mother’s Day dinner.

Sunday at Mama’s rental house. Mama, Cody (drove from Tulsa), Aunt Linda, Roy Calloway, me, Dustin. Six at Mama’s kitchen table. Dustin pulled out the small photo strip from the anatomy scan at the end of dinner. The photo had the small note the technician had written across the top: Brayden — it’s a boy! Mama cried. Aunt Linda cried. Cody hugged Dustin first and then me. Roy raised his glass and said: welcome, Brayden Turner.

Earlier in the week I had made parmesan chicken with artichoke hearts because the apartment had a jar of marinated artichokes from a Trader-Joe’s trip Dustin and I had taken Saturday on the Mother’s-Day-shopping excursion, and Dustin had asked for chicken-and-artichoke. Boneless thighs in a pan sauce of white wine, lemon, butter, garlic, parmesan, and quartered artichoke hearts. The marinating-oil from the jar goes into the pan as part of the cooking fat. The dish was the Tuesday-night dinner. The Wednesday-night dinner was the Mother’s Day Mama prep.

The recipe is the small Sunday-anchor in a small year of recipe-anchors. The Sunday-publish has been the small constant since I was fourteen and a freshman at Sapulpa High. The constancy is the small discipline. The small discipline is what makes the small kitchen-life sustainable.

The cafe’s small weekday-rhythm continues. Mama runs the small breakfast-and-brunch rotation. Cody runs the small lunch-and-dinner rotation. The small staff is the small extended family the cafe has built across the years.

Parmesan Chicken with Artichoke Hearts

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
• 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Heat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with the olive oil and set aside.
2. Season the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season both sides generously with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Arrange them in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.
3. Make the topping. In a medium bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, 1/2 cup Parmesan, minced garlic, and onion powder until smooth and well combined.
4. Add the artichokes. Scatter the chopped artichoke hearts evenly over and around the chicken breasts.
5. Spread and top. Spoon the Parmesan mixture over each chicken breast, spreading it to cover the top. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over everything.
6. Bake. Bake uncovered for 30–35 minutes, until the topping is golden and bubbly and the chicken registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
7. Rest and serve. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. Scatter fresh parsley over the top and bring it to the table straight from the baking dish.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 410 | Protein: 42g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 620mg