Baked Mushroom Chicken

Photo by Taste of Home

You know how the movies portray a good relationship where people can finish each other’s sentences? Mr. Bell thinks that is interrupting. And rude. He also does not think that me jumping in to correct a piece of his story is cute or charming or a mark of how much we are in love. Whatever. I am only trying to help him, can’t he see this? Sometimes the little facts are important to a story.  I once learned this the hard way.

Back in my single girl days, a friend and I went out for an evening. We stopped first to see my former boss at his work. We had a couple of glasses of wine and chatted with him at his restaurant and he told me that he’d recently gotten married. He went on to tell us that they’d gone to the Grand Canyon for their wedding. Now, maybe it was the wine but this struck me as really funny. I mean, who gets married at the Grand Canyon? What does one wear to a wedding at the Grand Canyon? Of course I laughed and said, “Really? People get married there?” And he looked at me like I was the crazy one and said, “Yes, people get married there all the time.” I should have stopped there but I couldn’t.  I said, “Did she wear a wedding dress?” Because really I just couldn’t picture it. In fact, all I could think about was the Brady Bunch episode where they are all riding mules to the bottom of the canyon. It is important to note that none of the Bradys were wearing anything close to a wedding dress. He said, “Yes, she wore a wedding dress.” At this point, I knew he was annoyed but I needed to know…. “Did she ride a mule down the aisle?” I thought this was hilarious. He did not. He stomped off and we didn’t see him again. In fact, I’ve never seen him again and don’t even get Christmas cards from him anymore.

Well, fast forward to a bit later in the evening.  Over a little more wine, we started telling our friend about our evening. I began to relay the story of the Grand Canyon wedding debacle. As soon as I said, “So he told us he got married at the Grand Canyon.” My friend interrupted and said, “Um, no. He said he got married at the Grand Caymans.” I said, “Well, whatever….” But then realized that the rest of the story made no sense, but my boss’s formerly outrageous seeming behavior did. You see? So when I correct Mr. Bell’s recollections, I am only trying to help. Why does he not see this? Details and clarity are important!

He was quite clear with the details last time I asked him what he wanted for dinner. There was no room for misunderstanding that he is completely burnt out on Mexican food and is quite possibly wondering how to go about getting it banned from our home. He also wondered how I could eat it so often. Um, because it is delicious and the perfect food, right?  And I just found a new blog called the Homesick Texan. We can blame her for my Christmas cards not yet being ordered and the general disarray that is my house right now.  We can also blame her for the new plethora of recipes I simply MUST try immediately. Sorry Mr. Bell….. In the meantime, have some chicken.

Baked Mushroom Chicken
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onions

  1. Flatten each chicken tenderloin to 1/4-in. thickness. Place seasoned flour in a resealable plastic bag; add chicken, a few pieces at a time. Seal and shake to coat.
  2. In a large skillet, brown chicken in 2 tablespoons butter on both sides. Transfer to a baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. In the same skillet, saute mushrooms in the remaining butter until tender. Add the broth and wine. Bring to a boil; cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Spoon over chicken.
  3. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Sprinkle with cheeses and green onions. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. 
Enjoy!

No comments:

Post a Comment