Even though I enjoy squash, I wanted a fresh dish with fewer calories. When I searched for delectable ingredients, I found many pasta recipes. I then reasoned, why not use yellow squash instead of pasta? It also succeeded! Prior to use, all the ingredients can be prepared and stored in the refrigerator. The nicest texture comes from long, lean young squash.
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 ½ cups carrots, in 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 cups fresh spinach, shredded
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 cup dry lentils
- ½ cup low-fat chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seed
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Parsley sprigs for garnish
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large microwave-safe bowl. Stir to combine. Cover; microwave on high power about 25 minutes, or until chicken and vegetables are done. Add more broth if needed. Garnish with parsley.
- Copyright 2004 Jean Carper. Printed first in USA WEEKEND. All rights reserved.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 360 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 29 g |
| Cholesterol | 91 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 13 g |
| Protein | 36 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 264 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
It was good. I will make it again. I didn’t use fennel seeds because I didn’t have any.
It was good. I will make it again. I didn’t use fennel seeds because I didn’t have any.
Hearty and good. As at least one other reviewer noted, I prepared this dish on the stove top. I needed more chicken broth than the other reviewer used, starting out with 2 1/2 cups and adding more as the moisture evaporated. It did take well over an our for the carrots and lentils to soften. I loved the garlic and fennel, both favorites at our house. My wife was underwhelmed, as I may have been if I compared this recipe to high fat, unhealthy dishes, but as a heart-healthy recipe that also tastes good, this one rocked.
This was a very good base for a chicken stew. I used twice the tomatoes, added mushrooms and a little paprika and a small amount of garlic salt and made it on the stovetop as the simmering was important for flavor.
I was reluctant to try the micro cooking. It seems like cheating. But my wife was hungry, so we tried it. It worked great! Used a lot of different ingredients – potatoes, carrots, parsnips, kale, and leek, plus the chicken and can of tomatoes, and only 2 garlic cloves – but the cooking process was so easy. Took 30 minutes with all the stuff I had. Will remember this one for the future.
Fabulous flavors in this dish. I made this is a slow cooker for 4 hours. I added a lot more broth, about triple the chicken broth to make it more soupy. The lentils absorbed a lot of the broth. I put the fresh spinach in about 2 hours into the cooking. Then I shredded the chicken when it was done. We serve it over rice. A great recipe for filling folks up!
Quite good though it did not cook evenly in the microwave. The lentils were not done nor was the chicken after 25 minutes. We will do this over the stove next time. Halved the Italian seasoning (gives me heartburn) and used chicken thighs. Would like to try middle eastern spices next time – cumin and other things. But, healthy, quick and hearty. Can’t complain.
Delicious, easy, and healthy. Appreciated the review suggestions. Needs a bit more liquid than recipe has, so I pre-cooked the lentils in 1 cup+ broth until dry. For my preferences, I browned the chicken (with a bit of garam marsala) — and added it for the last 10 minutes. I added browned onions and chopped cauliflower (any veggies likely would work.). I added a few chopped mushrooms for last 10 minutes. I left out fennel. The garlic makes the dish, so don’t skimp. Yum.
This was pretty good. It didn’t say whether to shred the chicken, so I just cut 1-inch-wide strips to help it cook faster. I followed another reviewer’s instructions and used about 3 cups of liquid (2 broth, 1 water) and cooked all but the carrots and spinach for about 1 hour, then added the carrots and spinach for about 15 minutes. Well, the carrots weren’t cooked, but I had run out of time. It had a nice flavor and the leftovers ended up more stew-like, which I think I liked better. The lentils (I used yellow) made it a filling meal.
Basically a great recipe with great taste but I did change a couple things. I used ground chicken, a can of chick peas, used more broth and left out the fennel. I also cooked this on the stove top. Very tasty and will make again.
This was delicious! I used real fennel and omitted the lentils. I baked it in the oven at 375 for 45 min. Then I made some couscous and put the stew on top. super easy and can use whatever veggies/grains have on hand. Will definitely make again.
I found the recipe quite bland. I did like the mixture of chicken, spinach, and lentils and will use in another dish.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it multiple times and it’s so good. I modified it this time by adding Rotell instead of the tomatos, simply because I didn’t have tomatos and omited the Italian seasoning. It gave it a nice little zip.
Great flavor! I did make a few changes mostly in the preparation. I left out the fennel because I didn’t have any and it was delicious without it. I also cooked it on the stove-top, not the microwave. I used 3 1/2 c. chicken broth (2 1/2 c. to start and then added 1 c. with the carrots and spinach toward the end.) I put the chicken, diced tomatoes, lentils, 2 1/2 c. chicken broth, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper in a large pot and cooked it for about an hour. Then added 1 c. water with the carrots and spinach and cooked for another 15 mins. or so, until the carrots were tender. I’ll definitely make this again!
Served this to my lentil-hating husband and my 16-month-old as well as my parents. They all loved it. I cooked it in the slow cooker as one of the other reviews recommended. The only thing I added was hot sauce to mine to spice it up a bit. Other than that, very tasty!
Very tasty and easy! I made this in the pressure cooker, on high for 10 minutes, and it turned out perfect.
I really loved this – it seemed so healthy and hearty – but my husband and step-son didn’t care for it. My husband isn’t a fan of lentils – I even cooked them separate to keep them from getting hard but even with them perfectly soft he just didn’t care for it. I didn’t have fennel seed; I added diced summer squash & broccoli to use them up and I really did love it. Oh well.
This was delicious! Highly recommended. I first made this earlier today for a group of ten quilters. Everyone asked for the recipes and had seconds! I only made one alteration, and that was to add mushrooms, because I love to have mushrooms in stew.
My kids said to rate this recipe 5 stars. This is the first time my son has eaten cooked spinach and actually liked it. I put in only a pinch of fennel seed. I also added leftover pasta and extra chicken broth. Delicious!
I followed this pretty well putting all ingredients in the crock pot minus tomatoes and it turned out great. I used canned peas instead of spinach
I would have given it a perfect score because the flavor was great BUT the Lentils never cooked through. I think the next time I make it I will cook it on top of the stove as I do my lentil soup. I was a little leary in the first place when I saw it was a microwave dish. Nothing ever comes out right in a microwave except just to reheat something. Good Flavor though. Easy and the fennel was wonderful.