When you have no plans and dinner is delicious

This week is the first week in a very long time where we have very few busy nights and it's wonderful. Sure all those activities are good, we enjoy them, but have you had a week where you have nothing planned? It's fantastic. This recipe was easy enough for a weeknight even if you had plans. I didn't have chicken tenders, but I did have chicken breasts that I cut into slices and cooked up. I did have parsley! A few herbs have flourished in the garden so far this May. These are from last year and showing up with gusto. I'm going to feel bad when I dash all their hopes and dreams in a week or so when we till the garden and get it going for the year... but for now - I'll enjoy those herbs, even if I drop the bowl when I take a photo of it. We all liked this recipe, the rice was really tasty and the chicken too - even if I forgot to reserve some of the sauce to pour over the top, I guess I was excited to get the rice in there and get dinner going. See... even if you mess it up - it's still good.

Chicken with Garlic Parmesan Rice
1 lb. chicken tenders
Salt and pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup butter, (1 stick)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoons salt, divided
½ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1 ½ cups white rice, (uncooked)
3 cups chicken broth
½ cup Parmesan cheese, (grated or shredded)
Fresh parsley to garnish

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Sauté chicken tenders until nicely browned and just cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add butter, garlic, pepper flakes and ½ teaspoon of salt to the empty skillet and sauté garlic for a couple of minutes on medium heat.
Turn heat to medium high and add white wine. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside 3 tablespoons of pan sauce to use later.
Add uncooked rice to skillet with remaining butter sauce. Stir well – make sure it’s completely covered. Add chicken broth and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Bring mixture to a low boil then reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir several times while it’s cooking
Sprinkle parmesan over rice then arrange chicken tenders in skillet over rice. Cover, remove from heat then let stand for 5 minutes.
Drizzle reserved 3 tablespoons of pan sauce over chicken tenders when serving and garnish with parsley.