From the Kitchen: Chicken Giardino

Can you believe it's Wednesday already? Time is just flying by...there's only 5 months and a bit until my wedding and on Saturday it's my one year blogiversary! Wow, it feels like such a milestone. I'll have to take some time and write down my feelings about what I've accomplished and the opportunities that blogging has brought my way...

But today we're talking food! Last night I was mulling over what to make for dinner with the defrosted chicken breasts I had and my mind wandered to the Olive Garden. It's been a place my family has often gathered, due to the kid-friendly environment, great prices and tasty food. Some people badmouth the OG, but I've always liked it! My fave OG menu item, Chicken Giardino, had recently disappeared from the menu. This bummed me out last time I went so I decided to try to hunt down the recipe for myself. Little did I know Olive Garden was so willing to offer it to me! You can get the full recipe right on their website here. They actually have quite a few of their recipes listed there, so you can look for your faves!

It's a bit of a longer recipe, with sauce making and chicken and vegetable sauteeing and pasta boiling all going on...but it is worth it because it's delish - just like I remembered! I substituted linguine for the farfalle pasta and extra chicken broth for the white wine. The dish is super flavourful with tons of yummy veggies. Once it was ready, I topped our servings with fresh parmesan and J at two giant bowls!

To see the full recipe and many other Olive Garden favourites, stop by their website here.

Tell me friends, do you ever try to recreate your favourite restaurant dishes at home? Any successes worth sharing?