Mushroom and Chicken Saucy Goodness - in under an hour

Had a stroke of brilliance last night.  I had a vague idea of what to make, but even I didn't expect it to come together so nicely.  It turned out to be this deliciously moist chicken breast in a creamy mushroom sauce, served over some fluffy mashed potatoes.  I was definitely patting myself on the head, especially, when I saw that it took just a few minutes over an hour to make altogether.

Chicken in a Mushroom Sauce

4-5 chicken breasts
flour to coat
salt pepper
olive oil
1/2 onion
8-12 oz baby bella mushrooms (depending on preference)
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth + a few tbsp
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cloves garlic
parsley

Cut chicken breasts in half, salt and pepper, and coat in flour.
Place and sautee on hot skillet with olive oil until golden brown and cooked inside, about 15 min.

In another skillet, sautee chopped onion and mushrooms until tender.  Transfer to a bowl.
Melt butter and whisk in flour in hot skillet.  Continue whisking until blended and the flour mixture bubbles.  Keep whisking the bubbles for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and whisk.  Keep whisking until thickened.  There's a pattern here...whisk.  Add in mushrooms and onions and heavy cream.  Add chicken and chopped garlic to the sauce.  Cover with lid and let simmer on LOW for about 15 min.  If the sauce is too thick, add more chicken broth and bring back to simmer.

Serve with parsley, over mashed potatoes or rice.  Rejoice!

Homemade Spinach Fettuccini

I bought a pasta maker!   Unfortunately, last night's dinner was not made with one.  It's still being shipped but I wanted to see what I could do by hand and compare it to the machine version.  It turned out awesome!  You have to have some time and patience, but it was worth it.  I made about half this dough and it was perfect for 2 servings.

I served this with some chicken Parmesan.  I like my chicken to be crispy so I heat the sauce separately from the fried chicken tenders.  I topped it with some fresh mozzarella, grated parm, and fresh basil.  My hubby was sick last night and stuffed up but even HE could taste the great flavor!

Homemade Spinach Fettuccini

- 6 oz fresh spinach
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1 heaping tsp of salt (emphasis on the heaping)
- 2 1/2 cups flour

Steam fresh spinach over water for a few minutes until wilted.  Cool slightly and with your hands squeeze out the water.  Add into a food processor and chop.  Add 2 eggs and egg yolk, and salt.  Pulse on low until combined well.  Place in bowl and add flour.  Combine until dough comes together.  It should be very tough.  I tried kneading this with my hands first because I thought it might be too tough for my food processor but it did work!  I threw it in the KitchenAid for about 6 min.  The original directions say between 5 and 10 by hand.  I separated the dough into quarters and rolled it out as thin as I could and then sliced it into pasta sized strips.  Leave the strips out to dry for about 20-30 min.  Boil in salted water for about 10 min or until al dente.

Original recipe from: http://www.marthastewart.com/314301/fresh-spinach-pasta-dough