Caramelized Chicken
with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
I have been so unbelievably busy with work lately, I find myself with very little time to cook or even to think about cooking. I think this may be the first time in my life where my fridge is not stuffed with fresh produce because there is just no point in buying it as each week as I have to throw it out. Its a sad state of affairs when you are living on Au Bon Pain, pre-packaged food that I know is really not good for you and leftover takeout, but that is what I have been doing for the past few months. When I am not on leftovers, I am eating out because I am too tired to cook. I realized last week how much I missed cooking and wanted to actually make myself a simple home cooked meal. I stopped by the supermarket on the way home from work for some simple ingredients of chicken and fresh mushrooms and planned a little dinner for one.
The one item I am usually stocked up on is wine so with a little red wine, I adapted what turned out to be a wonderfully simple dish I found on Epicurious. It tasted even better on day two and day three. I do have to get back into my cooking and eating a little healthier.
Caramelized Chicken with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
Adapted from a recipe found on Epicurious
Serves 2-3. Prep/Cook Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
4 thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup dry red wine
Directions
Season the chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper. Add the flour in a bowl and dredge the chicken in the flour – you want a very thin and light coating on the chicken. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and add the olive oil. Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side. While the chicken is browning, slice mushrooms and chop onion.
Once chicken is done cooking (after about 7-8 minutes total), set it aside on a plate. Turn the heat down to medium and add 1 tablespoon butter and the onion. Saute for 1 minute. Add the remaining butter (2 tablespoons) and mushrooms. Stir and saute for 6-8 minutes, until mushrooms are soft. Add in wine to deglaze the pan and stir well to remove brown bits from bottom of the pan. Add chicken back in with the mushrooms and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Served with a healthy side of crunchy veggies
I will absolutely be making this fabulously simple dish again.
