French Farmhouse Garlic Chicken

Garlic is one of my favorite ways to add flavor to any dish.  When I saw this recipe for French Farmhouse Chicken in the Better Homes & Gardens Big Book of 30-Minute Dinners I saw that it called for 40 cloves of garlic.  Yes, you read that right, 40 CLOVES.  Crazy, right??  Well, I decided to give it a shot, and I am very glad that I did.

This dish was easy to make after a long day.  Peeling the garlic did take some time, and although the recipe says if you're pressed for time you can peel it after cooking, I think it was worth it to do it before.

And no garlic clove went to waste.  This is definitely a meal to have when everyone's eating it.  Otherwise, make sure you have plenty of breath mints on hand!

French Farmhouse Garlic Chicken (from Better Homes and Gardens)
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
4 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 3/4 pound total)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
40 small cloves of garlic (peeled or unpeeled, halving any large cloves)
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp dry white wine or chicken broth plus,  divided
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
4 tsp all-purpose flour
hot mashed potatoes or cooked rice

Directions
- Rinse chicken; pat dry.  Season with salt and pepper.
- In a 10-inch skillet cook chicken and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes or just until browned, turning once.
- Slowly add 1/2 cup white wine or broth, lemon juice, basil, and oregano,.
- Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is tender and no longer pink.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken and garlic to a warm serving platter.  Keep warm.
- In a small bowl stir together the flour and the 2 tablespoons dry white wine or broth.  Stir into pan juices and bring to a boil.
- Cook and stir for 1 minute more.  Spoon sauce over chicken.
- Serve with potatoes or rice.