Chicken Stroganoff

Why not, right? While beef stroganoff is an ultimate comfort food, I try to limit (but not eliminate!) my red meat consumption. I am always on the lookout for alternatives. I was a bit skeptical of this recipe at first, but I performed my litmus test by scanning the ingredient list to see if there was anything I really was not interested in working with (and eating). All ingredients checked out, and the recipe was a success. I was just cooking for me (and was still riding my wave of skepticism), so I halved the meat but left the rest of the proportions, and “healthed it up” a bit.

One thing I do not like about traditional stroganoffs is the excessive sour cream – I have just never liked the taste (or the thought of extra calories and fat). Here, I tackled that problem by substituting healthy fat-free greek yogurt, using less than half the amount suggested. I swear, I treat myself like a 6-year old sometimes, tricking myself into eating healthy foods. It worked – but the extra dollop on top, which made for a very pretty picture, remained on the plate after I finished eating.

Ingredients:

– extra virgin olive oil
– 1 sweet onion, diced
– 2 handfuls cremini mushrooms, sliced
– 1 huge boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks (max 1″ x 1″, but most smaller)
– 1 T flour
– 1 t paprika
– freshly ground pepper
– 1 c low-sodium chicken broth or stock
– 1 T Worcestershire sauce
– 3 T nonfat greek yogurt (more for topping if you would like)
– parsley for garnish (optional but pretty)
– extra wide egg noodles

How do I make it?

• Start the noodles cooking, according to package directions.
• Heat a medium skillet, sauce pan, or dutch oven over med-high heat. When hot, add 1 T olive oil.
• Add the onion and cook until it is about half browned.
• Make some room for the mushrooms so they are touching the pan, add 1 T olive oil, and lower the heat to medium. Add the mushrooms, but do not stir until they start to brown. Then stir the mushrooms and onions together. Add a little more oil if it starts to get too dry.
• Raise the heat back to med-high. Add the chicken, flour, paprika, and pepper. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside, about 5 minutes. The contents of the pan should brown and smell delicious when the paprika starts to “bloom.”
• Add the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce and simmer. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. The chicken will cook through during this time too (this is why it’s important that the pieces are small).
• Stir in the greek yogurt and continue to cook until the sauce looks uniform and is the consistency you would like.
• Serve over the egg noodles.

Original link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chicken-stroganoff-recipe/index.html