Chicken and Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce

A simple and delicious french dish for a quick weeknight dinner!

Chicken and Mushrooms
Adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen

1 pound chicken breast cut into chunks
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
handful of chopped parsley

For Sauce
2 tbsp butter
4 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 c. chicken stock
1/4 c. flour

This dish is great served over rice.  Make sure to start your rice first.  It will be done by the time the chicken and the sauce are done cooking.
Once you have the rice going.  Melt the butter for the sauce in a medium saucepan.  Add flour and mix well until paste like consistency and golden in color.  Gradually add chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir constantly- don't burn the bottom!  Add wine and simmer while continuing to stir for another 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and add cream.  Mix together and add salt and pepper to taste

While the sauce simmers, melt butter in a large pan.  Add chicken and cook until golden, then add the mushrooms and continue to fry for about 5 minutes until chicken is cooked thoroughly and mushrooms have softened.

Serve chicken and mushrooms over rice and top with white wine sauce.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Goes well with chardonnay!

Blackberry Ricotta Pancakes

Nothing is better than homemade pancakes on a Sunday morning...

Blackberry Ricotta Pancakes
Adapted from 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know

juice from 1 lemon
1 pint fresh blackberries (raspberries are equally delicious)
1/3 c. plus 1 tbsp sugar
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 c. part skim ricotta cheese
1 1/4 c. almond milk
4 eggs, separated

Add blackberries, lemon juice and 1/3 c sugar to mixing bowl and gently crush blackberries as you mix together.  Set aside
In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, 1 tbsp sugar, and baking powder.  In another bowl beat the ricotta cheese with milk and egg yokes.  Add ricotta mixture to flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Set aside and let sit for 10 minutes.

Beat the egg whites in bowl with hand mixer until they have soft peaks.  I never knew what soft peaks were until I made this so if you are wondering it looks like this.

Gently fold blackberry mixture into the flour and then fold in egg white mixture.  To fold means to gently work your spoon from the bottom of the bowl around the edge to the top 'folding' the ingredients.  Not stirring together.  DO NOT OVER MIX!

Heat skillet over medium low heat and melt 1/2 tbsp butter in middle.  Spoon batter onto skillet over melted butter. Cook each side until golden brown.  If you are new to pancakes, flip when the batter starts to bubble, about 2 minutes.  Serve with confectioners sugar and maple syrup.

Spanish Marinade

This is a really simple marinade for pork or chicken that will spice up any dish!

Spanish Marinade
New Sonoma Diet
Serves 4

1 tsp garlic mashed into paste
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Spanish paprika (I just used plain old paprika)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients together.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste if you like.  Marinate with pork or chicken for 15 minutes or more.  Chicken is great in tacos!