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Menu Plan for the week of Feb. 15, 2013: Wednesday's Recipes

Chicken Breasts / Tarragon Mushroom Cream over Pasta

Cooking time:  30 minutes for menu          Cooking schedule: see below for instructions

     I cut the chicken into thick slices for this dish, making it more of a 'chicken' dish than a pasta.  Adding the spinach makes it an easy one-dish dinner.

Chicken Breasts / Tarragon Mushroom Cream over Pasta            Time:  30 minutes  
      Chicken breasts, sautéed with shallots and mushrooms, finished with a luscious Tarragon Cream and served over pasta, simple mid-week meal worthy of your best china! 

2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 tbs olive oil
2 shallots
4oz (120gr) mushrooms
1 1/2 tsp dried tarragon  
1 cup (8oz, 240ml) chicken stock
6oz (180gr) fresh spinach
1 tbs cornstarch (maizena, corn flour) dissolved in 2 tbs water
1/2 cup (4oz, 125ml) Greek yogurt
1 1/4 cups pasta, bite-size, penne, fusilli

Cook pasta according to package directions. 
Finely chop shallots.  Clean and thickly slice the mushrooms.  Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet.   Add chicken breasts and sauté about 7 minutes per side.  Remove and set aside. 
Add shallots and mushrooms to pan and sauté until shallots are tender and both are starting to brown.   Add tarragon and 1/4 cup of the chicken stock, stir to get all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.  Return the chicken to the pan and add remaining stock.   Cover and simmer over low heat until pasta is ready. 
Wash spinach if needed and drain well. Very roughly chop or slice, just to get big leaves into 2 or 3 pieces. 
When pasta is done, drain and put into a bowl.  Add spinach to pasta and toss to combine.  Remove chicken breasts.  Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to skillet,  stirring until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.  Pour sauce over pasta, toss to coat.   Thickly slice chicken breasts, arrange on top of the pasta and serve.

Cooking schedule: 30 minutes Assemble all food, utensils and serving dishes Utensils: measuring cups, spoons, knives, pot and colander for pasta, skillet with lid Put water on high heat for pasta Sauté chicken breasts Chop shallots Clean, slice mushrooms Turn chicken Prepare spinach, roughly chop Remove chicken, add shallots, mushrooms, sauté Start to cook pasta

Add tarragon, stock to pan, stir Add chicken, remaining stock to pan, cover, simmer          Pause while stuff cooks Drain the pasta Put pasta in bowl, add spinach, toss to combine Remove chicken Dissolve cornstarch in water Stir cornstarch mixture into sauce to thicken Remove from heat, stir in yogurt Add sauce to pasta, toss to combine Slice chicken arrange on pasta Serve

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By Katie Zeller

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