“Life is busy but you have to eat!” Well, that seems to be my motto this past year since baby Connor came along. Now that Connor is eating solids it seems like all I am doing is cooking, cleaning up mess and cooking more. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook it’s just cleaning up afterwards I HATE and my time is getting more limited with my two boys.
This does cross my mind…
I thought I would challenge myself this week to create 4 quick dinners in less than 20 minutes to help myself and YOU on those days when you just don’t have a lot of time BUT You have to eat! 🙂
Are you interested in more Flavorful 20 minute meals??
The Recipe
I normally am not a fan of chicken breast but if there is bacon grease and cheese involved, I will eat it! You could also use boneless and skinless chicken thighs or another veggie if you would like. Frozen veggies (and frozen strawberries for shakes) are key for quick meals. Frozen veggies are sometimes even better than fresh because they have been picked at their peak ripeness. I so enjoy fresh foods but I cry when they spoil in the fridge because I didn’t get around to using them! 🙁 Also consider freezing in season vegetables for use later in the year. Some frozen veggies that I keep on hand: Green beans, sliced carrots, okra (for my Roux-less Gumbo), broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and Brussels sprouts.
You can use fresh green beans in the recipe but just know that it will take about 10 minute longer to cook.
I hope you enjoy this quick and delicious dinner. If you have an extra 5 minutes, this meal would pair perfectly with my Better than Red Lobster Biscuits!
To print, highlight recipe and right click and select print.
- 1-1/2 lbs chicken breast or tenders cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 tbsp. bacon drippings or salted butter
- 1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
- 1 lb. cut frozen green beans
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or around 2 oz. by weight)
In a large skillet over medium heat, add bacon drippings or butter. As soon as the pan is hot, using tongs, add the diced chicken to the pan in single layer. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning. Cook on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes. Flip chicken and sprinkle with remaining Cajun Seasoning. Add green beans to pan on top of chicken. Add cream and water to pan and cover and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add Parmesan cheese to pan and gently stir green beans and chicken.
Allow to cook 2-3 more minutes or until green beans are tender, the chicken is completely cooked and the sauce has thickened. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Enjoy!
Nutrition: 275 Calories, 11.5 grams Fat, 7 Total Carbs, 2 grams Fiber, 5 Net Carbs, 34 grams Protein
Also be sure to check out my two cookbooks, Satisfying Eats & Comforting Eats, NOW available in eBook format through Amazon and the spiral bound versions are available here on my blog.
Happy Cookin’!
Can coconut milk sub for cream and can you omit the cheese? I know it won’t taste the same but do you think it would still be good?
Rachel, I am sure you could. If omitting the cheese, be sure to add more salt or seasoning. Let me know how it turns out!
That sounds delicious and fast 🙂
Oooh, keep these quick meal ideas coming! I love how this looks.
My husband and I made this last night and thought it was delicious! I used fresh greens beans and just blanched them quickly first. The flavor was wonderful!
Title misleading: Will take more than 15 min if you don’t have cajun seasoning on hand….. 🙁
Pepper, this is a very common spice blend that I use a lot on my blog and it only takes a short amount of time to prepare. Give it a try… will find yourself putting it on EVERYTHING! 🙂
I made this tonight and we really like it. I used frozen string beans but had to leave it on longer and really stir so the beans would get hot. Next time I will defrost the frozen beans. I don’t want the extra calories but my husband requested rice to sop up the yummy liquid! Thanks!
We made this tonight, and it was DELICIOUS! Super simple.
We’d never cooked with cajun seasoning before, and now can’t imagine not using it. 🙂
Our “sauce” didn’t thicken at all, which was disappointing. I had to pull the green beans and chicken out, then add a little more cheese to the pan. Still didn’t thicken up, but ended up tasting fine.
Thank you so much for posting this one! It’s going into the rotation.
Carrie, I’m glad eve yin enjoyed the recipe. Not sure why it didn’t thicken. Be sure not to cover the pan and maybe increase there at a bit. Also add extra parm! 🙂
This was quick and a huge hit w the family!
I have a feeling cheese really makes this dish. However, since I’m dairy free I made it with substitutes and it’s still good. I’m trying to go through your regular recipes now. All of your desserts are amazing.
My recipe: 3/4 cup coconut cream (in place of cream), olive oil in place of butter, 1/2 Tbsp psyllium husk powder to thicken it up (and makes it a little stringy like cheese), then another 1/2 Tbsp of your seasoning.