This recipe was adapted from http://www.bakeatmidnite.com/2013/07/mushroom-asiago-chicken.html and her pictures make it look a lot more appetizing.
Mushroom Asiago Chicken
3 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 cups (or more) mushrooms, cut in half
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 pinches of dried thyme
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup seasoned flour (see below)
2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup freshly shredded asiago cheese (plus more for topping)
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (to taste)
seasoned flour:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Pound chicken breast with a meat mallet (or give your husband a rolling pin and let him at it) between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap until meat is uniform thickness; about 1/4-inch. Cut into serving-sized pieces (2 or 3 pieces per breast).
Heat the butter with *1* tbs of olive oil in deep, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium heat (I used my Dutch Oven).
Dredge chicken in seasoned flour. Add to hot oil/butter in skillet. Saute until golden on each side, about 5 minutes per side (it is ok if they are not cooked all the way through because you will be cooking them again). If there is not enough room for all, you can do it in a few batches. Remove chicken from pan and let rest on a plate with paper towel to soak up the extra oil.
Add remaining olive oil to hot skillet. Saute mushrooms until they begin to brown but not too long or they will get mushy.
Add chicken stock and garlic powder to skillet, scraping up all the browned bits that are at the bottom of the pan. Rub thyme between your fingers and add to mushroom/chicken stock in pan.
Add the chicken back to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken from pan. Add the cream and heat through. Add the asiago cheese (I thought 1/4 cup was a good amount to start with - asiago is a powerful cheese - but you can use up to 1/2 cup. I preferred start with less and to let each person top theirs later to their personal taste).
Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until cheese melts. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced by about 1/2 (but not too thick). If you wish to skip the reduction step, you may thicken the sauce slightly with about 1 tbs instant flour or 1 tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs water...however, the reduction will taste better.
Pour sauce over chicken in a serving dish.
Optional: Garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme and/or more cheese. May be served over any pasta but we really liked it with mashed potatoes.
About 4 servings.
**Notes:
- Don't over cook the mushrooms like I did or they will loose too much texture and be mushy at the end (they will still taste good though!). When eating, I wanted more mushrooms so I will be adding more next time.
- I also over reduced the sauce so it was too thick. Make sure it still is a bit runny. It really didn't take that much time to reduce.
- I made a bit of a mess taking the chicken in and out but you can probably do it better. Also, the original recipe calls to add the chicken back in one last time at the end to reheat but I didn't think it needed it and would be a little prettier to put in a serving dish and just pour the hot sauce over it.
- At the end, because I had used salted butter, I didn't think it needed any more salt and I never add extra pepper.
