Review: Creamy Chicken & Mushrooms

[lanie]

I made this last night (from the 30 minutes or less) and it was excellent. I used gorgonzola instead because we really like it - such an easy dinner and we loved it - definitely a repeater.
Elaine

[jazzcat]

Lanie, This sounds delicious. Could you post this. TIA

[lanie]

hi Jazz - here you are - I did change the cheese and guess you could do any cheese you prefer....

Creamy Chicken & Mushrooms

1 cup uncooked medium egg noodles
Cooking spray
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bit-size pieces
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 (8 oz) package presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tsp. all purpose flour
1/3 cup (3 oz) spreadable cheese with garlic and herbs (such as Alouette)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
While pasta cooks, heat a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken, sauté 4 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from pan, set aside.
Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, sauté 1 minute. Add mushrooms, sauté 4 minutes. Add wine, cook for 3 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.
Combine milk and flour in a small bowl, stir well with a whisk. Add milk mixture to pan, cook 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Add chicken, cheese, 2 tbsps. parsley, and pepper, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve over pasta, sprinkle with parsley if desired. Yields 4 servings
Calories 338 (18% from fat); Fat 6.9g (sat. 2.5g. mono 1.7g. poly 1.1g); protein 37.1g, carb 31.3g, fiber 2.9g, chol 101mg, iron 3.5mg, sodium 241mg, calc 116mg




[This message has been edited by lanie (edited 04-01-2001).]

[jazzcat]

Thank You Lanie!

[Lisa C]

I tried this tonight too and it is definitely a keeper! I couldn't believe how tasty it was and it is one of the few 30 min or less recipes that I have tried that was truly 30 minutes!!

Just had to add my 2 cents!!

[CHRIST1NE]

Did any of you have any trouble finding the spreadable cheese? I don't think I've ever seen it, but then again I've never looked for it. What part of the store did you find it in - dairy section, the cheese island or somewhere else?

[ellielk]

Christine, you should be able to find this in the cheese section by the spreadable cream cheese or sometimes they have it where they have gourmet refrigerated dips.

[aggie94]

I made this yesterday, and thought it was pretty good. I did have to add a TON of garlic salt to the final product, because it was very bland. I didn't have egg noodles, so served it over garlic & herb fettucine, which went very well. And I could only find lowfat garlic & herb spreadable cheese (Rondele, I think?). It also took me much longer than 30 minutes -- maybe it's just me, but the only thing that I can truly make in 30 minutes or less is a grilled cheese sandwich. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif

[Danielle]

I found the Alouette cheese in the cheese aisle, next to the Brie.

[mandarin2j]

We had this last night, and my husband kept saying, "this is Cooking Light?" You'ld think he'd know by now that it's Cooking Light, not Cooking Bland. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

-Amanda

[doggerham]

I made this last night, and it was a big hit with my husband. I used a combination of shallots, garlic and green onion, and also tossed in some Penzey's Fox Point seasoning, based on some of the comments here.

For a couple o' transplanted midwesterners, anything with pasta, meat and creamy sauce is wonderful. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Amy

[Kristi]

Another question on the cheese--did you guys use the regular or reduced fat version? I am planning on making this tonight and bought the reduced fat, but I'm wondering if this will alter the results (i.e. the creaminess) at all?

[aggie94]

I used the reduced-fat version because that was all I could find. I found the dish to be plenty creamy, just a little bland and not very flavorful. Next time, I'll jazz it up with some more and different spices.

[mandarin2j]

They make a low-fat version http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/confused.gif

Oh well, next time...

[This message has been edited by mandarin2j (edited 04-04-2001).]

[jmarie]

I found a tube of Kraft Cheese Food with Garlic, back in the cheese section.
I tried this recipe just last night and LOVED IT! This was my first try at "Gourmet, low FAT cooking abd my husband RAVED over this dish! Glad to see everyone liked it! I tried the roasted asparagus and it was just yummy! A great meal....but it took me 45 minutes! :-)

[lanie]

Not to keep at it - but if any of you like blue cheese - it was incredible in this dish - try it - you'll like it! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[doggerham]

I used the reduced fat Boursin brand cheese, and thought it was plenty creamy.

Amy

[Kristi]

Well, I tried this last night and thought it was okay--not fabulous, not bad--just okay. It seemed rather bland even after I added some extra spice, and my husband commented that it needed to be "richer." If I made it again I would make it without chicken and with more mushrooms (which really seemed to be the main flavorful ingredient).

[Karen M]

YUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!

I added extra garlic and used the light cheese. Definite repeater. (no way did I get 4 servings out of it though!)

[lindrusso]

Well, I really, really, wanted to like this one...

I thought it as good, but not great. I ended up using the light Boursin because I could not find the Alouette (or rather, I did not want to make the extra trip to the other store). I think that regular Boursin or the Alouette would have been better.

I may try it again with the right cheese, but I was a bit disappointed. And I so love creamy comfort food! On the flip side, my husband and kids really liked it, so it wasn't a complete wash!

[jldill]

I knew I should have read the bb before making this. I was placing a Webvan order and they had sliced mushrooms on sale, the issue was out, it was 30-minutes or less, so it went on this week's menu list. I was very disappointed. I found it bland and not very creamy. I may have been a little impatient and not let enough wine evaporate. It also took me over 30 minutes -- 40 at least and I felt rushed. The leftover cheese on crackers was more appetizing. I think the suggestions for gorgonzola and more seasonings are good. But, if you have to make so many changes to a recipe to make it good, I have to wonder. If I feel like creamy pasta, I'll go back to a fetuccini alfredo from CL about 5 years ago. If I have more time and want creamy pasta, the vegetable lasagna from the April 2001 issue was very creamy and had vegetables in it. Or, the risotto with corn and peppers from the same issue was creamy and tasty.

[eks]

I gave this one a try tonight, and wasn't pleased with the results. I used green onions instead of shallots because they were too expensive. I am glad to read that it took others longer than 30 minutes-it took me about 45. This was too bland for my family. I don't think I will make this again, but if I did I might try cooking the chicken for a few minutes in the white wine to add some flavor.

[rinsav]

I tried this recipe a week or so ago and loved it! My BF thought it was great too. I'll definitely make it again.

[mamacox]

I made this a couple of weeks ago, also could not find the Alouette cheese, but I used reduced fat cream cheese with some fresh garlic and herbs ( I think oregano and basil) and it was wonderful! My husband raved over it.

[misstapioca]

i made this a couple of days ago with the Allouette cheese. I thought it was wonderful, the leftover cheese on toast was the best. (very dangerous) I measured out the amount of egg noodle (med size) and i did not end up with a 3/4 cup of cooked noodles for each size. Fast and Easy!

[LGBurns]

I made this and thought it was very good for a quick easy recipe. I was definitely able to make it in 30 minutes (almost on the dot, actually). I used Fleur de Lait brand Light Spreading Cheese with Garlic & Herbs and thought it had plenty of flavor. I would suggest if you don't want to pay for the shallots a good substitute is a combination of green onions and garlic (I have a feeling that you would have had better results, eks, if you had used this combination instead of just green onions). I am pretty sensitive to bland food and didn't find this bland at all. However, my husband and I did have it with kale cooked with garlic which may have added to the flavor of the whole meal.

[schuh]

I made this yesterday. I used Fleur de Lait Light Cream Cheese with Garlic & Herbs. I also substituted a combination of onions and garlic for the shallots. Although I had read reviews that said this recipe was bland, I didn't believe it -- garlic, onions, wine, flavored cream cheese all have so much flavor. But honestly, it was pretty bland! Also, the wine overpowered the rest of the flavors (it could have been the cheap Chardonnay I used). Finally, it was all an unappetizing brown color. I gave it a 6, DH gave it a 5, and my son said it was "medium" (his term for edible but don't love it). I doubt I'll make it again -- there are so many better CL recipes that I've made (and that I've yet to try).

[Karen M]

We made this for the second time last night. The first time I made it (a few weeks ago), we used Fleur De Lait Brand Cheese. Last night I used the Alouette.

The difference: Fleur De Lait was way better. If I had tried this recipe with Alouette the first time, I probably would have written it off as a bust. The Fleur De Lait cheese has way more flavor (in our opinion).