Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Recipe Time

I am not sure if this will become a regular part of my blog but I like doing it because I like to share... I think that was probably the only thing I was really good at in school (okay, you call it cheating, I call it sharing - whatEVER...)

I have been really into cooking and baking lately. It is something I sort went away from after a really horrid past relationship. I never felt excited about it until recently. I LOVE collecting recipes that I would never try or use regularly but Kevin and I were SO sick of eating the same things every week including a weekly call to the "pizza man" as Matthew now screams every time we see a delivery car. I do not want Matthew's early memories of food to revolve around the pizza dude coming to visit so...

I finally decided to go back to trying new recipes and I have been having a total blast. The new kitchen totally feeds this fuel of course. At any rate, without any further ado...

Chicken Stroganoff Pasta (from Cooking Light)

1 tbsp butter (from a stick is best and easier to measure)
1-1/2 cups chopped onion (abt 1 medium)
2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage *Yeah for our garden for giving me this in mass quantities!
1-1/4 tsp salt, divided (I use sea salt)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 (8 ounce) package presliced mushrooms (I have used both regular and the mini bella mushrooms from Kroger and I definitely like the flavor from the mini bellas better but that is just me...)
1/4 cup all purpose flour (about 1 ounce) - I use whole wheat flour for everything and it does not really change the taste and I feel healthier using that kind versus the white stuff
1 tsp paprika
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast halves (I use two of the skinny frozen chicken breasts, thawed from Sam's and that is about enough but I am not a HUGE chicken fan so mostly I put enough for K & M.)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fat free less sodium chicken broth (I do not use this - I buy the organic chicken broth from Kroger - they have little 1 cup containers that are awesome.)
2 tbsp sherry (I just use cooking sherry - I am assuming it is the same thing?)
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tbsp all purpose flour
5 cups hot cooked wide egg noodles (abt 8 ounces of uncooked pasta) *Again I am not a fan of egg noodles so I just use whole wheat thin pasta, I cannot remember the brand but it is in the pasta isle in the brown box down low and it is ALWAYS on sale.)
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (I totally used less the 2nd time we made this because the fresh stuff is STRONG tasting and Kevin did not like that.)

1.) Melt butter in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add sage, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper and mushrooms; saute 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to brown. Put mixture in large bowl.

2.) Combine 1/4 cup flour and paprika in a shallow bowl. Cut each chicken breast half in half lengthwise; cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips. Dredge chicken strips in flour mixture; shake off the excess flour mixture. Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of salt & the remaining 1/8 tsp of pepper. Saute 4 minutes or until chicken is done. Add chicken to mushroom mixture.

3.) Add broth & sherry to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium low. Place sour cream in a small bowl; sprinkle with 1 tbp flour. Stir this up until combined (with a whisk if you like I just use a dang fork even though I own two of those stupid whisks.) Stir sour cream mixture and remaining 3/4 tsp salt into broth mixture. Stir in chicken mixture; cook for a few minutes or until thoroughly heated. Put noodles in large bowl and pour mixture over the noodles. Add the parsley; stir well to combine.

We loved this meal. Matthew thinks it is yummy and particularly like the chicken and noodles. This is not a QUICK recipe to make. I have made it after work both times and it took me about an hour each time (actually probably a bit longer the first time because I was trying to follow the recipe. Usually by the 2nd go I am good at just remembering what comes next and doing it so it is quicker.) We did not make anything else to go along with it because it is fairly rich tasting and a serving is enough to fill you up. If you try it, I hope you like it as much as we do!!

Bon Appetite!

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