Chicken Stroganoff

I woke up yesterday to my coupon inserts on the kitchen counter and... a copy of The Hunger Games! The hubby had thought of me during a morning trip to Walmart. My heart leapt in excitement, I've been meaning to read this book for months. I actually went and saw the movie before I read the book (I usually like to read the book first). I thought the movie was really well done, it captured my imagination in many ways.

Needless to say, I started reading the book yesterday. In the blink of an eye, I was 110 pages in and it was after 7 o'clock. I hadn't even started dinner. Yikes. I got my butt into the kitchen, and I had this on the table in 30 minutes. I was pretty proud of my efficiency.

What takes the longest? Getting a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. I do that first thing. I like to use egg noodles in this dish, mainly because egg noodles were standard in stroganoff when I was growing up.

I like to give the chicken a nice, crispy coating. I've found putting flour in a Ziploc bag, adding the chicken, and giving it a good shake perfectly coats the chicken in flour.

Brown the chicken to give it some nice color and then remove it from the pan. This is another dish where the chicken doesn't have to be done at this point, it will finish later in the cooking.

The hubby and I love mushrooms. The more the better! I sliced up a healthy amount to put in this dish.

The mushrooms, garlic, and dried basil go in the pan after the chicken has been browned.

I didn't take a lot of in-between pictures, but this is the finished product. After sautéing the mushrooms, the sauce is made. The sauce is a combination of chicken broth, sour cream, and a dash of Worchestire sauce. The chicken is then added back in, and the dish is simmered until the chicken is done. A toss of the pasta, a handful of minced parsley, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese finishes up the dish.

A fast and tasty dinner. Now, back to The Hunger Games :)

Ingredients:
6 ounces dried egg noodles
1 large chicken breast
2 tbsp flour, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
3/4 tsp pepper, divided
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp Worchestire sauce
1/4 cup parsley, minced
Parmesan cheese (garnish)

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.
2. Cut chicken breast into bite-size pieces. Combine 1 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Add chicken to bag, seal, and shake until chicken is thoroughly coated.
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. When hot, add chicken to pan. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side, or until chicken is browned. Remove from pan, and set aside.
4. Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in the pan. Add mushrooms to pan, saute 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and dried basil, continue to saute mushrooms to desired tenderness.
5. Add chicken broth to pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer 1 minute, then add remaining 1 tbsp flour. Cook 1 minute. Add sour cream, Worchestire sauce, and remaining salt and pepper to the pan, cook 1 minute or until thickened slightly.
6. Return chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer 1 minute, or until chicken is cooked through. Add pasta and parsley to pan, toss to combine. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
7. Divide pasta amount individual plates. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Cooking Light