Broke the dinner doldrums

20 minute Chicken Marsala.Yummy!

Have you ever stood in front of the fridge; door wide open and staring at the abyss within. From the fridge  you wander to the pantry and begin the stare down with the pasta and beans.
You haven't picked anything out and have thus entered the dinner doldrums.
I have been in the dinner doldrums for quite some times and fellow bloggers said check out Pinterest. Which I do, but rarely do I use the recipes.
Tonight I broke the cycle and made chicken Marsala. Holy Hera, it was amazing! Did I get it from Pinterest?
My mother and I got a Martha Stewart DVD from our local library and watched her make quick cook chicken Marsala. I remembered the recipe and then made it for my hubby and me.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of flour
Salt
Pepper
1 garlic clove
2 cups of Marsala wine. I used Smithfield. It can be found where the desert wines are. 

 3 table spoons of lemon juice.
4 table spoons of butter unsalted or salted.
2-4 chicken breasts boneless
Parsley for garnish
Olive oil 2 table spoons.
1 package of white mushrooms.

Step 1.
Butterfly the chicken in thick breasts. In a shallow dish mix flour, salt, and pepper. Then dredge the chicken in flour. Add oil to a hot pan and cook chicken for 3 mins on each side or chicken is golden brown. While the chicken cooks I chopped mushrooms and minced the garlic. Place the chicken aside or if needs to cook more put into oven.

Step 2.
Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the pan you cooked the chicken in. Then add the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes. The liquid should be reduced. Remove from heat and add the Marsala wine. Then put back on the heat and stir, getting those brown bits mixed in. It should be like deglazing the pan. When it is simmering again, add the last 2 tablespoons of butter, garlic, and the lemon juice. Bring back up to a simmer. It should cook for 2-3 minutes. I did longer and the sauce thickened a bit more. It is a runny sauce. 

Step 3.

Take chicken and place on a serving platter, pour the Marsala over the chicken and top with parsley.  I served it with Idaho instant potatoes. Gasp! I know it was not fresh, but it was as good as it could get. I did not have the time. So, I doctored the classic buttery potatoes with parsley and extra butter. Sandra Lee would be proud of that. Serve HOT!

Making this dish made me come out of that dinner dump and back into the world of what could be. Who said you have to go to a swanky restaurant to get a good dinner like this? For 4 servings the total cost of this dinner was $20. At a restaurant it is what, $12-25 per person? Wow,big difference. This meal took 20 minutes to make and well worth it. So easy to do, I love it. Tomorrow? Well, dinner will be stuffed peppers! Yes, I will post that. 

Home made mac n cheese.

Spare me the box and give me the real stuff! I was watching food network and I saw Ina Garten making man n cheese. She made it look so easy to do. And although she used expensive cheeses and truffle butter; I found I could imitate it with cheddar cheese and cream. I made my own take on her recipe.
Here is my recipe:
You need butter 3 tablespoons
4 tablespoon of flour
Salt and pepper.
Pasta
Italian bread crumbs
1 small bag of sharp cheddar
2 handfuls of mild cheddar
2 cups milk

In one pot boil pasta , then in the other melt butter and add flour. Whisk together and get the flour taste out. I warmed the milk in the microwave then added it to the butter.  You want it to thicken on medium heat while whisking and add salt and pepper.  When it is thick add cheddar and keep whisking. Add the pasta and mix together. Put into a dish and add the bread crumbs . You can either save for later or finish off in the oven at 350 for 25-30 mins.
Enjoy!!!!