Chicken and Mushroom Dinner

This dinner was inspired by a dish my mom used to make all the time. It was a combination of ground beef, egg noodles, cheddar cheese soup and cream of mushroom soup. Despite the canned soup, its delicious and a great comfort food dish.

However, I wanted to eliminate the high sodium, chemicals and fat from the canned soup and ground beef to lighten this dish up. I also switched out the regular egg noodles for whole wheat. It's still comfort food and a bit of splurge with the cheddar cheese but it’s also delicious. Since you're splurging with the cheese, make sure you get a block of decent sharp cheddar and grate it yourself - you'll get so much more flavor for only a little extra effort.


Chicken and Mushroom Dinner

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms - I used white button mushrooms but use whatever mix you like
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 T butter
1 T flour
2 cups milk - I used skim
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper + more for chicken
1/4 tsp salt + more for chicken and pasta
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 T fresh thyme
8 oz egg noodles

Heat a large pot of water to boil. Separately, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Trim any fat off chicken and butterfly and cut into thin small sections. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to the pan and add chicken when hot. Cook chicken approximately three minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms to the pan and cook about five minutes.

Salt pasta water when it boils and add egg noodles. Cook to al dente and drain.

Meanwhile, add wine to skillet and reduce heat to medium low, cook until the wine is almost all evaporated, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula. Add butter and flour and stir to combine until smooth, reduce heat to low, cook about one minute and slowly add milk. Stir to incorporate. Add mustard, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook until sauce begins to thicken. Add cheese and stir to melt. Thinly slice chicken and add to pan. Add drained noodles to pan. Toss to coat with sauce and cook a couple minutes for flavors to combine. Top with fresh thyme and serve.