Chicken with Carmelized Onions and Gruyere Cheese

Sooo...I saw this on Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations a couple of months ago, and have been meaning to make it ever since.  I love Mary Ellen's blog because her cooking style is very similar to mind (LOTS of pasta and risotto, not a lot of baking).

OH. MY. GOD. This was so good.  If I had known how good it was, I would not have waited 2 months to make it!  

This is definitely a great meal for a cold night, good thing since we are having some especially cold weather in Chicago for the first week of April.

I followed Mary Ellen's recipe with a few modifications:

• I used sage instead of thyme (Not buying an $8 jar of dried thyme in this economy!) and dredged the chicken in flour and sage.
• No cheese on the inside of the chicken ( I was lazy)
• Again, had to add a carb.  Joe is quick to notice if one of the food groups in missing from the meal.  Actually the mashed potatoes I think really made the meal.

I whole-heartedly agree with Mary Ellen though; spinach, gruyere cheese and carmelized onions are a fantastic combination!

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; trimmed and pounded out a bit
2 onions, sliced
Salt and pepper
Pinch of thyme
Pinch of sugar
Paprika
Approx 3 tbsp flour
Olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Approx 1/3 c white wine
6 slices Gruyere cheese
Fresh spinach
Directions

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium heat

Add onions, pinch each of salt, pepper, sugar, and thyme. Let cook, stirring often, for approximately 30 minutes until the onions are brown and caramelized. Remove from pan.

Add another tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to pan

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge in flour, shake off excess.
Place chicken in the pan; cook approximately 4 minutes on each side.

When the chicken is done, top each piece with 2 slices Gruyere cheese.

Place under the broiler in your oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Top each chicken breast with some of the caramelized onions, and place under the broiler for another 2 minutes.

Serve over sauteed spinach (saute spinach in olive oil with salt and pepper for 3-4 minutes, until just wilted).