Chicken Marsala

Not too long ago I wrote about Chicken in Wine Sauce and how it's a quick recipe for hurried nights when you want to put a nice dinner on the table in a hurry.

Thinking about Chicken in Wine Sauce made me think of Chicken Marsala.

I had never made Chicken Marsala before, so I googled for a recipe and the "Olive Garden" restaurant came up in my search. I almost dismissed it, thinking, "I don't want to go to a restaurant and order it, I want to MAKE it." But then I realized that the "Olive Garden" was offering up their recipe. Hmmm... this sounded interesting...

So I tried it.

Oh my goodness... this was one of the quickest and easiest recipes I have ever made! It only took a few minutes of preparation, pounding the deboned chicken and slicing the mushrooms. Then most of the cooking was done while everything simmered in the covered skillet.I made a couple of minor changes to their recipe. I used four cups of mushrooms instead of two and I used a few fresh herbs from the garden instead of dried oregano. I'm sure I'll be making this again and when fresh herbs aren't available I'll use "Italian Seasonings," a simple blend of home grown dried herbs... oregano, parsley, basil, and thyme. I served my Chicken Marsala over some homemade noodles with a side of wilted spinach.

I'll reprint the Olive Garden recipe here since they been kind enough to share it... but I noticed that they shared a number of other recipes as well and you might want to visit their site when you're looking for a little inspiration some time. Their site is www.olivegarden.com. Their recipes can be found under the heading "Connections to Italy."CHICKEN MARSALA (Olive Garden recipe)

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
1/2 cup flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Dried oregano to taste
4 Tbsp oil
4 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Marsala wine

Procedure
POUND chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap until about 1/4" thickness.
COMBINE flour, salt, pepper and oregano in a mixing bowl. Dredge chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off any excess.
HEAT oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken breasts on medium heat for about 2 minutes on the first side, until lightly browned. Turn breasts over to cook other side, then add mushrooms to skillet. Cook breasts about 2 more minutes, until both sides are lightly browned. Continue to stir mushrooms. Add Marsala wine around chicken pieces.
COVER and simmer for about 15 minutes.
TRANSFER to serving plate.