Amy’s Chicken Marsala

I love chicken marsala. The richness of the sherry with the sweetness of the shallots with moist chicken is pure deliciousness. Best of all, it is pretty easy to make a healthier savory version at home. Restaurants tend to add a lot of cream and butter to this dish.  My version has zero cream and only a touch of butter. Plus, I personally believe it tastes better than any restaurant version.

This past weekend I made my chicken marsala  for my hubby. Served with baked parmesan mashed potatoes and some sauteed broccoli, it was a pretty sweet meal. Recipe below:

Chicken Marsala (serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 shallot – diced

1 package sliced baby bella mushrooms

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin and dusted with flour & preferred seasoning (I use garlic salt, pepper and thyme)

3/4 cup marsala wine or sherry

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter

Saute chicken in pan with olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked

Remove chicken from pan (leave drippings in)

Add a little bit more oil to pan if needed. Saute shallots until translucent/slightly carmelized. Add mushrooms and cook for about 8 minutes. Add sherry/marsala wine, cook until reduced by half.

Add chicken stock & butter. Season to taste.

Add chicken then transfer to plate to serve. Garnish with parsley if desired. Enjoy!

Bringing Sushi to Your Kitchen

Who ever said you need to go to an expensive Japanese restaurant for sushi?  As long as you can find some fresh fish it’s super easy to bring those same flavors to your kitchen.  Here is my recipe for a deconstructed tuna-avocado roll…

Tada!

1. First marinate fresh sushi-grade tuna for an hour in…

1 tsp of grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup of orange juice

3 tbsp of soy sauce

1/3 cup sweet chili sauce

2.  Remove tuna from marinade and coat both sides with sesame seeds

3.  Heat canola or vegetable oil in a saute pan and cook the tuna for about 2 minutes on one side and a minute on the other

4.  Slice tuna at about 1 cm wide slices and serve with avocado, white rice (I use Jasmine since it’s easier to find than sushi rice) and sliced ginger.  Drizzle with any soy-based sauce such as teriyaki or gyoza dipping sauce.

Deconstructed Sushi

Guilt-Free Creamy Cheesy Mushroom Rigatoni Bake

I have a love-hate relationship with creamy cheesy pasta sauces. They are absolutely delicious but I hate the guilt that comes with eating thousands of calories and tons of fat is a single pasta dish. Therefore, I was ecstatic when I came across the low calorie/low fat creamy cheesy Mushroom Rigatoni Bake recipe from Cooking Lite. The dish is packed with flavor with a thick asiago sherry thyme sauce that is rich yet guilt-free. I often make this dish for guests as it can be made ahead of time and I can clean up the kitchen while it is baking in the oven. Therefore, when my guests arrive I can simply sit back, relax with a glass of wine and enjoy their company.

I’ve adjusted the Cooking Lite recipe slightly, using a little more cheese and sherry than called for (because you can never have too much cheese and wine) but I also use skim milk instead of 2%. The Cooking Lite recipe also calls for a variety of mushrooms but I just use baby bella. So the next time you are craving creamy cheesy deliciousness without the guilt try out my revised Cooking Lite Mushroom Rigatoni Bake recipe below:

Mushroom Rigatoni Bake (Serves 4)

Mushroom Rigatoni Bake

Ingredients:

8 ounces rigatoni

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup sliced shallots

1 package sliced baby bella mushrooms (or any mushroom of your preference)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups skim milk (or whatever you have on hand)

1 to 2 cups (depends how dangerous you feel that day) grated Asiago cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375. Cook pasta al dente, drain well, set aside.

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, saute 3 min or until slightly carmelized. Add mushrooms, thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic. Saute 8 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add sherry, cook 1 minute, stirring frequently, remove from heat.

Place flour in a dutch oven or small sauce pot (whatever you have on hand) over medium-high heat. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a boil, cook 1 min or until slightly thick. Remove from heat, add half of the cheese, stirring until melted.

Mix pasta, mushroom mixture and cheese sauce together. Spoon pasta mixture into a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with remainder of cheese. Bake at 375 for 30 min or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Garnish with thyme sprigs if desired.