Chicken with a Mushroom Sage sauce + green beans & sprouted red rice

Today’s barre3 challenge-approved recipe is a little more time consuming than the chili recipe from last week, but this is still an easy recipe overall and totally works for a weeknight dinner (only 2 pans required and about 30 minutes of work). I often make the sauce ahead of time so that all I have to do at the witching hour is pan-roast the chicken and prep a side – maybe asparagus, French green beans or wilted spinach with a grain – usually brown rice or quinoa.

The recipe is inspired by two of my favorite chicken recipes – one my mom used to make with mushrooms and Dijon mustard and one from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc cookbook (made with gobs of butter). Both recipes are simple and delicious, so I combined them and made it a lot healthier in the process. This meal looks so impressive when served on a pretty platter, family style.  Its kind of like fancy comfort food, but healthy.

The recipe is also super flexible. Don’t want to use white wine in the sauce? No problem, just substitute extra chicken broth. Don’t like mustard?  Skip it! The sauce is delicious without it, just not as tangy. Don’t have Greek yogurt? You can use sour cream or skip the dairy all together – it’s still divine. 

This dinner is a perfect way to boost your day’s intake of Vitamin D, B, and several important minerals – like selenium, magnesium, potassium and iron.  I’m a huge mushroom fan for lots of good reasons starting with taste – they have such a delicious, meaty flavor that’s so hard to describe – but they are also awesome for weight maintenance (hello, high fiber!), heart health and immunity, and they also have anti-cancer/inflammation properties, so don’t be shy, eat up!!

Chicken with Mushroom-Sage Sauce

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil + 2 tsp, divided

10 oz sliced crimini mushrooms (or any mushrooms of choice)

¼ cup finely diced shallot, about 1 very large

1 Tbsp gluten-free flour (or whole wheat flour)

¼ cup white wine (or broth)

1 cup chicken broth + extra if needed to thin sauce

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard

7 sage leaves, minced + a few extra leaves for garnish

¼ cup +1 Tbsp plain Greek Yogurt (I used Fage 2%)

salt and pepper to taste

Sides:

1 bag sprouted red rice from TJs

1 bag of haricot verts from TJs or green veggie of choice

Method:

Begin to prepare the mushroom sauce by heating 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until lightly browned and soft, about 5-10 minutes.

While the mushrooms cook, heat another large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tsp olive oil.  Season chicken breasts with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Add chicken breasts to the pan, searing for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip over. Reduce heat to medium, cover chicken with a lid, and continue cooking for about 10 minutes or until juices run clear.

Add the shallots to the mushrooms, and cook until they soften, about 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the bag of sprouted red rice or grain of choice, and prepare a green veggie of choice (I love the bags of French green beans from Trader Joe’s, but anything works- just make it easy on yourself!).

Sprinkle 1 Tbsp gluten free flour over the mushroom-shallot mixture, and toss to coat, cooking for about 2 more minutes. Deglaze the pan by adding the wine and broth (you can use all broth for the liquid if you prefer). Stir. Add the mustard, sage, and yogurt to the sauce. Season as needed with salt and pepper.

Plate a little rice – top with a chicken breast- and smother it in the mushroom sauce.  Serve along side your green veggie. Garnish chicken with extra minced sage. Done - you're awesome!