Tastes like Chcken?

How many ways are there to cook chicken....I think enough to serve chicken every nite for a couple of years and not have the same thing twice....I am trying to eat a little lighter these days in hopes to lose a bit of that post summmer weight. Last week I thought about making that old comfort standby Chicken and Dumplings and decided that I needed a lighter fare. Chicken Marsala....one of my old favorite standbys...Its easy, light and delicious. I serve it with Brown Rice ( not a substitute for dumplings or mashed potatoes but it will do ), and usually roasted asparagus or some other great vegetable. Here is my recipe for Chicken Marsala...

Chicken Marsala by Michele

Ingredients:
4 large boneless breasts sliced thin
1 small shallot minced
1 clove of garlic minced
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup marsala wine
1 lb mushrooms sliced

Dredge the chicken fillets in flour. Melt 2 Tbs butter with 2 tbs olive oil in saute pan. Sear the breasts in the oil until golden brown. Remove from pan. Melt another 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs olive oil in same pan. Saute garlic and shallots. Add mushrooms and saute for 5 min. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala wine....add chicken stock. ( delgazing is removing all the bits of food that are on the bottom of the pan) Add the chicken back to the saute pan and cook on a low simmer for 45 min to 1 hour. Make a slurry of cornstarch and cold water using 1 tbs cornstarch and 2 tbs COLD water. Add to pan and let come to boil to thicken. Serve over Brown Rice.
Hope you enjoy it!
Remember - BITE ME!!

Always be prepared....Boy Scout motto or Culinary Proverb?

Its been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. Christmas has come and gone..Its 2010. I have been sooo busy cooking, baking, visiting and basically just enjoying the time with family and friends. I was determined to not overwhelm myself with all the baking and shopping we normally go through in preparation of the holidays. Call me anal, but it serves its purpose. My Christmas shopping was finished before I left for Dallas the beginning of November ( I also made my mother finish hers ). So when I got home Thanksgiving week I was ready to shake and bake. Since my mother left for her Carribean vacation 2 days after Thanksgiving, I took advantage of the empty house to decorate and prep my baking. Once the tree was up, lights on outside, and the house cleaned I started making my cookie doughs. This year I decided to make a couple of new cookies so it was going to be 7 types in all. I doubled each dough and froze them in quarters. Now I could bake, as needed, smaller amounts and NOT be overwhelmed. Each week, a couple of trays of cookies went into the oven, and we had fresh baked cookies throughout the holidays. I lost count of the amount of cookies I baked, but I do know I made 7 rum cakes, 1 chocolate with chocolate ganache cake,and 1 chocolate with raspberry and chocolate ganache cake, and one batch of Aunt Carole Anne's Eggnog. That is just the beginning. I of course forgot to take pictures of everything I made so I have vowed to myself that this Year ( 2010 ) I will not only be prepared but I will deliver the goods! and Remember....Bite Me!