Don't Crowd the Mushrooms

"Don't crowd the mushrooms."  Uttered by one of my idols, the great Julia Child.  I took this to heart last night when I cooked dinner.  I saw a recipe for Chicken with White Wine Garlic and Mushroom Sauce and decided to make it my own.  Here is my version: (which by the way means, quicker and with far less weird ingredients-actually, I had everything but the mushrooms on hand.)

This took about 30 minutes and served 4.

4 half chicken breasts (I used the ice glazed frozen ones, for lack of better planning)
garlic powder
rosemary and oregano
1 tub sliced white mushrooms
1 tub sliced baby bellas
4 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup white wine (I used a white blend I had in the wine rack)
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour, divided
your choice of noodles ( I used fettuccine, because that's what I had on hand)

Place the chicken breasts in a shallow glass baking pan that you drizzled olive oil in.  Season the breasts with garlic powder, a pinch or two of rosemary and oregano.  I don't give exact measurements as I know how much seasoning my family likes. Adjust for yours.  Place in the oven at 325 for 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Since I used the ice glazed chicken, I put it in the pan frozen. ** A note about ice glazed chicken:  I used to be a chicken snob, only buying fresh chicken. One day, Vons had a big bag of chicken for some ridiculous price of $7.99 or something, so I bought some.  Thought it would be good for crocking.  It was/is, but I have found that baking this chicken yields some of the juiciest chicken I have ever made.  Never disappoints.**

While the chicken is cooking, start the mushrooms and the cloves of garlic smashed through a press, in a deep pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil.

Not crowding those mushrooms!

I cook mine on medium heat.  High heat just murders them and makes the garlic crispy.  Ew.  After the mushrooms have turned dark, add the wine and let them cook for about 5 minutes.  Then add the chicken broth.  After about 5 minutes, add one tablespoon of flour and stir constantly to thicken the mixture up a bit.  Add the second tablespoon and stir to thicken if it needs it.  I found that with the wheat flour, the second tablespoon was necessary.  Let this mixture simmer on very low heat until the chicken is done.  While that is simmering, cook your pasta.

I use a very large pasta pot, so that my pasta cooks evenly and quickly.

When the chicken is done, place it in the pan with the mushrooms and let it sit until ready to serve.  The chicken will absorb some of the sauce in the pan and will stay nice and juicy.  

  

Once the pasta is done, toss with a little bit of olive oil and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. 

I put everything separately on my plate, while Husband layered pasta, chicken and then the mushroom sauce on top.  I added a delicious glass of Cabernet and my meal was complete.  

I really need to use a better camera, as the food really didn't look gray at all.  Guess it's time to get that monster Nikon out of the closet!  

Anyway, thanks to Julia, my dinner was a success, unlike the train wreck I made the other night.  Also successful?  The fact that I got to take the leftovers to school for lunch!  Boom!