Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

If you're a mushroom-hater like me, don't let the title scare you! Honestly it's a lot like a stronganoff, only with chicken. In college I used to make a big batch (sometimes meatless) and eat it all week. I think meat tastes odd if reheated in a microwave, but it's fine on the stove or in the oven, and if you make it meatless then the microwave works great.


serves 4-6, depending how much chicken you use

• 1-2 lbs chicken (if you do cut up pieces it's easy to get away with less, which is cheaper, but it also works fine with whole breasts, thighs, or drumsticks) (I usually do 1-2 breasts cut up)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 c sour cream or plain (unflavored) yogurt
• parmesan cheese (cheddar is a nice variation if you don't have parmesan)
• extra mushrooms, if desired

Cut up chicken into 1-inch pieces and spread in a 9x13 baking pan. (If using larger pieces, either precook them for 30 min, or plan to cook the final dish for longer).
Spread soup/sour cream mixture over the meat, and sprinkle enough cheese to cover the top. Bake at 350* for 30-45 min (1hr or a little more for larger pieces).
Serve over noodles or rice.

I prefer to cut up the chicken, and if you use leftover chicken (or even canned) then it is pre-cooked and you only need to put it in the oven long enough to get everything warm--about 10-15min. That is a very fast dinner!
However, if you use whole thighs/breasts, and sprinkle it all with some extra parmesan when serving over a nice bed of noodles, it can be quite a fancy looking meal. Throw some steamed veggies on the side and voila!