creamed chicken, mushroom and leek pasta

we have another successful kid-friendly dish folks.  my kids ate every last bite (in exception to that one kid who won't eat mushrooms) and the husband said, "too bad there's not any left for work tomorrow."  he's my taste-o-meter.  i rarely get more than an "it's good" out of him though so i don't really think he's the best taste-o-meter after all.  sorry hon.  in fact, he also said, "didn't we just have this?"  that was dumb.  of course we didn't just have this.  the nerve!

this recipe came together because i had leeks and i had mushrooms that needed to be used up before they went bad.   i'm also two days from running another 1/2 marathon so i've been loading up on the pasta this week.  

the cool thing about leeks is they are a nifty cross between an onion and garlic (i think).  as a result, i don't feel the need to pull out the onion or garlic when i'm cooking with leeks.  this saves me from onion tears and garlic fingers.  plus and plus.

creamed chicken, mushroom & leek pasta

(printable recipe)

recipe adapted (sort of) from taste food blog

1 1/2 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (i used 5 (3-4 oz) cutlets)

1 tbsp olive oil

3 leeks, white and light green parts, chopped into 1/4" pieces and rinsed

8 oz mushrooms (i used sliced buttons)

1 tsp thyme

1/4 cup dry, white wine

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup fat-free half and half

8 oz whole wheat farfalle pasta

shredded parmesan to top

in a non-stick pan, brown chicken 3 to 4 minutes on both sides (not until done).  remove from pan and set aside to rest.

in a saucepan, cook noodles according to package directions.  

in the meantime, heat olive oil over medium-high heat then add the rinsed and drained leeks to the pan.  saute the leeks for about 4 minutes and then add mushrooms, cooking both for another 4-5 minutes.  stir in wine and simmer over medium until wine evaporates. 

while the wine simmers with the veggies, slice the chicken.

once the wine has evaporated (3-4 minutes), add the chicken stock, chicken and tablespoon of flour. add salt and pepper, stirring to combine being sure to rid of all flour clumps.  cover and cook over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked through (about 5 minutes).  pour half and half into mixture and stir to combine.  allow mixture to simmer until sauce thickens (couple of minutes).  stir in noodles to combine.   viola!

top with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese to taste.

makes 4 generous servings

Nutrition Facts creamed chicken, leek & mushroom pasta Serving Size: 1 serving Amount Per Serving Calories 443 Total Fat 10g       Saturated Fat 2.2g       Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 70mg Sodium 654mg Carbohydrate 51.7g       Dietary Fiber 5.7g       Sugars 7.2g Protein 35.9g Alcohol 1.4g Vitamin A 26% Vitamin C 15% Calcium    11% Iron 26%