Napa Chicken: Boneless chicken breasts, sitting atop a bed of crispy potatoes, all topped with parmesan cheese, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, roasted red peppers and a red wine sauce.

You guys, I totally need a pick me up today. I'm so bummed. There is one thing that really bums me out as a blogger. Do you know what it is?

Sigh.

The worst thing for me is when I cook up a meal that is amazing. Not just good, but amazing, with flavors and textures and colors and then....

The photos suck.

It's my own fault. I'm not one of those bloggers who has the luxury of cooking early in the day to catch the perfect natural light. I am the kind of blogger who rushes to get dinner on the table, like any other mom and but then I photograph it. This means, a lot of the time it's 6 PM or later and needless to say, the lighting situation is not optimal.

Most of the time, I can finagle some settings on my camera to make them salvageable but as luck would have it. I misread a photo tip (because I'm a total skimmer and not a full on reader) about a setting to use when needing more light and I got it backwards. I also was so rushed because it was way past the kids bedtimes and I just wanted to dig in, eat and get them to bed, so I didn't even review the photos as I was taking them. I just shot like a crazy lady and hoped for the best.

Well, the best is not what I got.

Unfortunately, this happens a lot over here. Usually, I just scrap the idea of sharing the recipe with you, but I didn't want to do that with this dish. It was REALLY delicious.

The other reason I didn't want to delay getting this recipe up is that it goes along perfectly with my recent series on remaking restaurant dishes at home. A few weeks ago, when I started the series, I asked you all on Facebook, what is your favorite dish to order in a restaurant and I got an answer from a reader of Napa Chicken. I had never heard of Napa Chicken, so of course I was intrigued, inspired and determined.

A quick Google search on Napa Chicken gave so many varying results. Oddly enough, the one that looked the most appetizing was one from Applebees. I have never eaten in an Applebees, and they are not usually my go to for recipe inspiration, but this time, it fit. I have never had their dish, but based on the description on their website, I created my own Napa Chicken. I hope this is the dish she was referring to!

That only left the photos. Well guys, I did my best. I'll show you what one of my pictures looked like originally (sad, I know). Thank goodness for programs like PicMonkey, because I was able to salvage them. Obviously they're not the best photos, but an improvement from the originals at least.

ORIGINAL PHOTO - YUK!

I know this recipe looks lengthy and difficult. I'm not going to lie, there are a lot of steps (but EASY steps). The upside is it's all in the same pan. You just keep swapping out the food. None of the steps are difficult.

TIME SAVING TIP: I highly recommend using a steam in the bag potato. I just buy my local store brand, but I know there are lots of varieties out there. The one I use has red potatoes in the bag and you just pop it in the microwave and they steam. After they cool a bit, I just dice and they're ready to go in the skillet. Much quicker and easier than having to par boil the potatoes.

If you are interested in trying PicMonkey to edit your photos, there are tons of options. It's not just for blogging, I now use it to edit pictures of my kids too. Oh, and it's FREE. There is also an option to upgrade to the Royal account for even more options. You can even get 1 week free of Royal, if you tell 3 friends about it!

Did you know you can help to support this page by visiting advertisers and/or purchasing items through the affiliate links?

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Napa Chicken

foodyschmoody

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Ingredients

3 T olive oil divided
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb red potatoes par boiled or steamed
1 red onion sliced
1 zucchini cut into half moon slices
1 roasted red pepper jarred, drained of liquid and chopped
5 oz portobello mushrooms
½ C red wine
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
½ C vegetable stock
1 T butter
Salt and pepper
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Dice partially cooked potatoes. Heat 1 T olive oil in large skillet, sprinkle salt in the olive oil and then place cut potatoes in the salted oil. Leave them alone, allow them to brown, about 8 minutes. Flip and brown the other sides as well. Remove from pan, set aside.
Return skillet to heat and add 1 T oil to skillet.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken in skillet, turning over once. About 8 minutes. (If your chicken breasts are quite thick, after they are browned, pop them in a 350 degree oven to finish cooking. If they are not large you should be able to get them cooked through in the skillet without scorching).
When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and set aside on plate.
Return skillet back to heat. Add 1 T oil.
Add onion, zucchini and mushroom, cook until onion is just softened, about 5 minutes. Set veggies aside.
Pour the wine, vinegar and stock into pan. Using a rubber spatula, stir and scrape the bits of the bottom of the pan (lots of flavor there). Allow mixture to reduce by about half. Stir in the butter.
To serve, place potatoes on plate, top with chicken. Sprinkle chicken with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Top chicken with vegetables, chopped roasted red pepper and wine sauce. Devour!

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Other restaurant remakes you might be interested in are: Whole Wheat Pasta Aglio e Olio, Restaurant Style Chicken Broccoli Ziti, Chicken Valdostana.

If you have a suggestion for a restaurant remake dish, I'd love to hear it!

Napa Chicken

Napa Chicken: Boneless chicken breasts, sitting atop a bed of crispy potatoes, all topped with parmesan cheese, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, roasted red peppers and a red wine sauce.

Printable Recipe Card

Napa Chicken

Ingredients

Instructions

More All Recipes

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Napa Chicken: Boneless chicken breasts, sitting atop a bed of crispy potatoes, all topped with parmesan cheese, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, roasted red peppers and a red wine sauce.

Printable Recipe Card

Napa Chicken

Ingredients

Instructions

More All Recipes

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