Tag Archives: food

Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

After a wicked storm rolled through Saturday night (as I was driving on a highway, unable to see two feet in front of me), I woke up Sunday morning to a gorgeous blue sky and perfect temperatures. My favorite moment of the day was listening to the sliding sound from opening my windows, a sound I haven’t heard in months. And you know how I spent my time enjoying the perfect weather? Sitting inside watching football. All day. It’s what I do. Don’t judge. And before I was lulled to sleep by the subtle melody of chirping crickets, I also made chicken. It’s also what I do. This time I made Chicken with Mushroom Sauce.

Mushrooms, shallots, garlic, wine, and broth are thickened with a little bit of flour to create a creamy, earthy sauce which is served over perfectly cooked chicken breasts. Butter is added at the end of the sauce giving a rich silkiness to the sauce and a touch of fresh thyme brightens up the whole dish. If you’re a big mushroom fan, you’ll like this sauce which has layers of flavor. I’d maybe use less butter at the end because it’s not really needed or leave it out and add a splash of light cream or fat-free half & half instead. This filling dish is great for those of you watching your carbs but it’s not really football fare so I’d save it for another day. It’s also best when it’s eaten right away since leftover sauce gets really thick in the refrigerator and it isn’t as good.

The ingredients:

Pound chicken breasts to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Transfer chicken to a dish and keep warm.

Add shallots and mushrooms to pan; sauté for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cook until liquid almost evaporates.

Sprinkle mushroom mixture with salt and flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Add broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick.

Remove pan from heat; add butter and thyme, stirring until butter melts.

Serve with chicken.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Chili-Cheese Mac

I was happy to not really have any plans this past weekend and looked forward to three days of laying low, staying in and saving money. I really had to keep myself on a tight budget this week so I’ve had to curb my spending, even at the grocery store. Every ounce of restraint to spend money went out the window though on Sunday when I met some friends for lunch. Because it was dreary and rainy outside, we were restless. No one had anything to do after lunch and no one wanted to just go back home. Next thing we knew, we were on a train to Atlantic City where we played blackjack for five hours straight. For someone who was really trying not to spend any money over the weekend, the whole trip was probably a terribly bad decision so thankfully it worked out. Just one day earlier, I was at the grocery store mentally calculating the cost of my items as I went along. So many of us are on budgets so it’s always good to find recipes that are light on the wallet and can either be made with staple pantry items and/or inexpensive ingredients. This Chili-Cheese Mac is a perfect example of such a meal.

Ground meat is seasoned with spices before being simmered in broth and water with canned tomatoes and macaroni. A super simple cheese sauce made of milk, cream cheese and cheddar cheese is mixed in to create a creamy and filling meal. This dish is the closest thing I have ever made that has reminded me so much of Hamburger Helper, which I love. The spices really provide plenty of flavor and the cream cheese adds a slight tang. I used chicken broth and ground turkey instead of beef broth and beef so any variation works. An addition of peas or spinach would be great additions to make it a full meal. This makes a ton of food too so it’s great if you are feeding a big family or if you just want to have plenty of leftovers for the week.

The ingredients:

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add ground meat and the spices. Cook 3 minutes or, if using ground chicken or turkey, until meat is fully cooked.

Add broth, water, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in macaroni; cover and cook 10 minutes or until macaroni is done.

Heat milk and cream cheese in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook 4 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar.

Add cheese sauce to macaroni mixture; toss well to coat.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Chicken broth
Ground turkey
Whole-wheat macaroni

Overall Rating: Love It

Lemon and Chive Potatoes

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big potato eater but if I’m making brunch, it only seems natural to have some kind of potato on the side. I admit I’m a big fan of a certain hashbrown from a certain golden arched restaurant chain but I just don’t allow myself to eat those buttery, greasy, delicious patties. And since I don’t have the first clue as to how to make said hashbrowns or love potatoes enough to really make attempt to make them, I’m settling for simple cubed, fresh potatoes – Lemon and Chive Potatoes.

Quartered potatoes are tossed with olive oil and roasted in the oven until perfectly browned before being tossed with fresh lemon zest and chopped chives. So simple. These potatoes don’t feel heavy and are a cinch to make. If you look at the recipe for these potatoes, you’ll see that I didn’t omit an ingredient but an entire process. I didn’t feel like spending a lot of time on potatoes (sorry, spuds, but you’re just not my favorite vegetable) so instead of grilling them, I roasted them in the oven. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time over the grill or the stove, waiting for the potatoes to get brown and crisp, toss them in the oven instead and take a seat. Enjoy your coffee because you can.