They say that your taste buds are recycled and replaced with new ones about every 7 years, and with this replacement your tastes can sometimes change as well.  I’m sure we all can think of foods that we once loved but now can’t stand, or vice versa.  One of these for me is sweet potatoes.  I never used to like them – I wouldn’t touch them whenever my parents made them (mainly at Thanksgiving and Christmas), even though I had no problem picking off the gooey toasted marshmallows from the top of them!  This year though, I found a really promising recipe for a sweet potato casserole that I wanted to try.  I figured if I didn’t like it, I was pretty sure that the rest of my family would.  Surprisingly enough though, I couldn’t get enough of it, and not just the marshmallows on top this time!  I think the combination of brown sugar, honey and cinnamon really helped with that.  Those three ingredients are high on my list of favorite things, so they’re bound to make even the lame sweet potato taste good.

I’ve made this a couple of times since then, and I have one word of advice: do NOT microwave the sweet potato to cook it.  I know, it’s so much easier and takes less time than baking it in the oven, but the one time I tried to microwave it, it was a disaster.  Instead of getting the creamy, fragrant sweet potato mixture, I got a sticky, gummy glob of grossness.  It was disgusting.  I’ve always been a little suspicious of the idea of baking a potato in the microwave, and now I’ve been proven correct.  So take the little bit of extra time and bake the sweet potatoes in the oven.  I promise, it’s worth it!

I’ve given a range on most of the amounts in this recipe because it should really be made the suit the tastes of those who are eating it.  For example, I like lots of brown sugar and honey in mine, but my parents like to rely more on the natural sweetness of the sweet potato, and use a lot less.  I would start out at the minimum amount and keep adding more until it tastes right to you.  There are also a lot of other things you could add in to add a nice crunch and some extra flavor.  I like to keep mine plain, but I’ve added toasted pecans, raisins and apples to it before and that’s been pretty tasty, too.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Makes: 4 servings

2 large sweet potatoes

1/4 – 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 tbsp – 1/4 c. honey

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. mini marshmallows

Optional add-ins: toasted pecans, chopped apples, raisins

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a large cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray.  It would be best if the cookie sheet had sides, like a jelly-roll pan.

2) Place the sweet potatoes on the cookie sheet and prick a few times with a fork.  Bake for 40-50 minutes until very soft (a knife will go easily through the potato when done.)

3) Trim the ends of each potato and peel the skin off.  Mash the potatoes in a large bowl until smooth.  Add in the brown sugar, honey, cinnamon and vanilla, mixing well.  If the mixture is too thick, add a few drops of milk until the desired consistency is reached.

4) Spoon the sweet potato mixture into a greased baking dish and spread evenly.  Top with the marshmallows.

5) Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until potato mixture is warmed through and marshmallows are browned, about 15-20 minutes.

]]> http://pharmfresh.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/sweet-potato-casserole/feed/ 0 pharmfresh IMG_4147 IMG_4150 http://pharmfresh.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls-with-caramel-icing/ http://pharmfresh.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls-with-caramel-icing/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:38:43 +0000 pharmfresh http://pharmfresh.wordpress.com/?p=318 ]]> Wow, I’m already up to four posts so far this month!  I’m pretty proud of myself.  I think it’s because these last few weeks have been really stressful, and when I get stressed I cook.  Usually something involving chocolate.  This time I was working on studying for a pharmacokinetics exam, but was having trouble sitting still and concentrating for any great length of time.  This recipe actually worked out perfectly for that, because it has lots of wait time.  So I could work on it for a few minutes, then study while the dough rose, take a break and do the next step, and then study while I was waiting through the next rise period and baking.  Not only did I get some super cinnamon rolls out of it, but I think I did pretty well on the exam, too!

These turned out really well.  I don’t usually make cinnamon rolls because they’re pretty labor-intensive, but this recipe wasn’t actually too bad.  Like I mentioned before, there’s definitely a bit of wait time involved, but if you’ve got a whole afternoon to yourself and something to occupy you while you’re waiting, it works out perfectly.  I really like the caramel icing on these.  Usually I go for a cream cheese icing for my cinnamon rolls, but this was surprisingly different and delicious and went really well with the pumpkin flavor.  These would be perfect for breakfast on Thanksgiving or Christmas day!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Icing

Adapted from: Recipe Girl

Makes: 12 rolls

For the rolls:

1/3 c. milk

2 tbsp. butter

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 package rapid rise yeast

2 c. all-purpose flour

Pinch of cinnamon and cloves (optional)

For the filling:

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tbsp. melted butter

For the caramel icing:

1/4 c. (4 tbsp.) butter

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Pinch of salt

1/2 – 3/4 c. powdered sugar

1) In a small saucepan, heat butter and milk until warm, but not boiling, stirring constantly.  Set aside.

2) In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugar and salt.  Add milk mixture and stir until smooth and well-mixed.  Beat in the egg and yeast.

3) Add 1 cup of flour to the pumpkin mixture.  Beat with an electric mixer for 5 minutes on low speed.  Add the remaining flour and optional spices and mix well.  The dough should be very soft.

4) Transfer the dough into a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

5)  After dough has risen, punch the dough down and turn out onto a floured surface.  Knead 4-5 times to form a smooth dough, adding only enough extra flour to make the dough manageable.

6) On a well floured surface, roll the dough out into a 12×10 inch rectangle.

7) In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling.  Brush the dough rectangle with the melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over it.

8) Beginning with one of the long sides of the dough, roll up jelly-roll style and pinch the seam to seal.  With a sharp knife, cut the roll into twelve 1-inch slices.  Place rolls cut side up in a greased 9 inch square baking pan.

9) Bake rolls at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

10)  For the icing, melt butter in a small saucepan.  Add the brown sugar and milk and mix until smooth.  Cook over medium-low heat for one minute, then take off the heat and stir in vanilla, salt and powdered sugar.  If necessary, add more powdered sugar to reach the desired consistency.

11) Drizzle icing over rolls.

If you saw the original recipe that I based this off of, you probably would barely be able to tell that it’s the same thing.  The general method is still the same, but I changed quite a few steps and ingredients to fit my tastes better.  To begin with, the original recipe was supposed to have a thinner sauce with sage and pancetta, but I really think it tastes better with bacon and shallots.  But really, what doesn’t taste better with the addition of a little bacon?

This is a little more time-consuming than your average weeknight meal, but it’s definitely not impossible.  I actually make this quite often on weekdays – after you get the general method and steps down, it’ll probably take you about 30-40 minutes to prepare.  I like to cut the turkey tenderloins crosswise into about 1 inch thick medallions so that they cook faster, and are easier to cut and eat at the end.  The sauce for this is phenomenal – I love the combination of the salty bacon and chicken broth with the sweet and fruity white wine.  Reducing them all together creates a really deep and savory flavor combination.  The more you reduce the sauce, the saltier it gets, so I would recommend using reduced sodium chicken broth and unsalted butter, then adding a little salt at the very end if needed.

Turkey Tenderloins with Bacon Shallot Sauce

Adapted from: Cooking Light

Makes: 4 servings

1 pkg. (about 1 lb.) turkey tenderloins

2 tbsp. olive oil

8 slices bacon, sliced crosswise into medium-sized pieces

2 shallots, finely chopped

3/4 c. white wine

1/2 c. chicken broth

3 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

Rice, for serving (if desired)

1) If desired, cut turkey tenderloins crosswise into 1 inch thick medallions.  Sprinkle with pepper only.  (Remember, the sauce itself is going to be really salty, so we don’t want to add any extra salt until the very end).

2) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot.  Place the tenderloin medallions in the pan and let cook without touching for about 1 minute, or until nicely golden on that side.  Flip over and cook until completely cooked through, about 2-3 more minutes.  Remove from the pan and set aside, covering with foil to keep warm.

3) In the same pan the turkey was cooked in and still over medium heat, add the bacon and cook, stirring constantly, until crisp, but not burned.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.  Keep 2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan; discard the rest.

4) Reheat bacon grease over medium-low heat until hot (still in the same pan that we started with) and then add shallots.  Saute until softened, about 2 minutes.

5) Carefully add the wine to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1/4 cup.

6) Add the chicken broth to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1/2 cup.

7) Take the pan off the heat and add the butter and most of the bacon (reserving a little bit for garnishing) and stir until the butter has melted and the sauce has thickened slightly.  Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

8) Place the turkey medallions on a plate and spoon the sauce over the top.  Sprinkle with remaining bacon pieces.  Serve with rice, if desired.

The recipe will make either one 9×13 inch sheet cake or two 8 or 9 inch round cakes.  I like to go with the sheet cake because it’s simpler.  The vanilla bean is completely optional in the frosting, but I think it gives this otherwise very simple, no-frills cake a little bit of fanciness.  Oh, and it tastes good, too.

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2) In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar with an electric mixer until combined.  Add the eggs and vanilla, mix until smooth.

3) Mix in the bananas, vanilla and milk.

4) Stir in the flour, baking soda, walnuts and cinnamon (if using), mixing until smooth.

5) Pour into a greased 9×13 inch baking pan or divide into two greased 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

6) Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown.  Cool completely before frosting.

7) For the frosting: In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until combined.  Add the vanilla, vanilla bean seeds and powdered sugar and mix until smooth and fluffy.  If the frosting is too thick, add enough milk to reach the desired consistency.  Frost cake.

It’s starting to get cold here, and I finally broke down about a week ago and turned my heater on.  For some reason, I hate doing that.  Not because I’m worried about increasing my utility bills or anything, but because that it means we’re in the inevitable downward slope towards snow.  Ugh, I hate snow.  I’m hoping it’ll hold off until at least after Thanksgiving.  A girl can dream, right?

As I’m sure is true with just about everyone, the cold weather makes me want to cook more often.  A lot of times during the summer I’ll just throw together a salad or a quick pasta salad for dinner, but now I’m craving warm, comforting food.  I decided to experiment a little bit with a cut of meat I don’t usually eat very often – the drumstick!  I’m really more of a boneless chicken breast girl, but I’m really glad I tried this recipe.  It’s super easy to make – just throw together the marinade in a plastic zip-top bag, toss the chicken in and let it sit for a few hours or up to a day, and then cook!  I really like the combination of garlic and honey in the marinade – the sweetness of the honey curbs the bite of the raw garlic and the extra bit of sugar helps the chicken caramelize really nicely in the oven.

Feel free to play around with the marinade and make it the way you like it.  I think next time I’m going to try leaving out the soy sauce entirely and adding in a few tablespoons of chopped chives.

Marinated Drumsticks

Adapted from: SimplyRecipes

Makes: 6-8 drumsticks

8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

2 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 c. olive or canola oil

1 tsp. salt (more or less, to taste)

1 tsp. pepper

6-8 chicken drumsticks

1) Combine all ingredients except drumsticks in a large zip-top plastic bag.  Seal the bag and squeeze it until all the ingredients are mixed well together.

2) Open the bag and add the drumsticks, squeezing the bag again until they are all well coated.  Place bag in a large mixing bowl (just in case it leaks!) and put in the refrigerator.  Let the chicken marinate for at least an hour, or up to one full day.

3) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

4) Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Remove the drumsticks from the bag of marinade and place on the baking sheet.  Discard remaining marinade.

5) Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and the outside is golden brown.

We’ve made this bread every single year around Thanksgiving and Christmas time for years. It’s one of my most favorite fall treats. It’s very easy to make, uses mostly ingredients you probably already have on hand, and it makes the entire house smell fabulously autumnal while baking. You can’t get any better than that!

Feel free to play around with the amount of spices in the recipe.  The original recipe called for only a teaspoon each of cinnamon and cloves, but I found that it wasn’t spicy enough for me.  I like to add a little bit of nutmeg, ginger and allspice as well.  Play around with it a little and if it doesn’t have enough flavor the first time, try putting in more next time!

Moist Pumpkin Bread

Makes: 2 loaves

Source: my mom!

2/3 c. shortening

2 c. granulated sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. pumpkin puree

2/3 c. water

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground allspice (optional)

3 1/3 c. flour

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two loaf pans.

2) In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until combined.

3) Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

4) Stir in water and pumpkin puree, then add baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.  Mix until completely combined.

5) Stir in flour, mixing until smooth.

6) Bake for one hour, until a knife inserted in the middle of the loaves comes out clean.

I’ve always wanted to try branching out and cooking some more Chinese/Japanese food, but I feel like I just don’t know enough about the ingredients and the cooking methods to do it successfully.  There are so many different ingredients that I don’t use on an everyday basis or have never used at all, so when I see them in a recipe I have no idea how they will taste or work with everything else in the recipe.  So when I ate these at our potluck and realized how delicious they were, I knew I had to have the recipe!

This recipe makes a TON (probably over 100) pot stickers, so if you’re not sure if you’re going to love them, I’d definitely recommend halving the recipe and then deciding if you want to make more after you taste one. The good news is that the uncooked pot stickers freeze very well, and cook up without any change in the consistency.  Just make sure they’re completely thawed before you cook them.

These are a little bit time consuming, but the taste totally makes up for it.  Filling the pot stickers takes the most time, but as soon as you get used to the process it goes a little bit quicker.    Also, the recipe calls for round wonton wrappers, but I could only find square ones and then proceeded to cut each one into a circular shape.  Huge waste of time!  Next time, I’ll keep them square and just make rectangular shaped dumplings.

One last tip:  make sure and use a nonstick pan for this.  If you don’t, they will definitely live up to their name and completely cement themselves to the bottom of your pan.  Trust me, I know this from experience.

I was able to find the sesame oil and miso paste in the ethnic foods aisle in my grocery store, but I couldn’t find sake anywhere, so I just left it out.  I couldn’t really tell a difference in taste between the ones I made (without the sake) and the ones that Tomoko made (with the sake), so if you can’t find it, it won’t make much difference if you leave it out.  Tomoko did say that though the miso paste might be kind of hard to find, it makes a big difference in taste, so don’t leave it out unless you absolutely can’t find it.  The same goes for the sesame oil. And definitely don’t skip the dipping sauce – it only has two ingredients in it (both of which you’re very likely to already have on hand) and it makes a HUGE difference in the overall taste.

Potstickers (also known as Gyoza)

Source: Tomoko DeKilder

Makes: a lot! (Probably around 100)

2 pkgs. wonton or Gyoza wraps

1 lb. ground pork

1/2 green cabbage

2 bunches green onions or scallions, finely chopped

2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

2 tbsp. sake

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp. miso (soy) paste

salt and pepper, to taste

1-2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 – 1/2 c. water

Dipping Sauce

Equal parts soy sauce and white vinear

(for just me, I do 2 tbsp. of each – for a crowd, I’ll usually 1/4 cup of each)

1) Boil the cabbage whole for 3-5 minutes.  Drain and let sit until it is cool enough to handle.  Roughly chop.

2) Lay a clean, dry kitchen towel out on the counter.  Place half of the chopped cabbage in the middle of the towel, and pull up each side  and gather at the top to form a little bundle.  Squeeze and twist to extract as much water as possible.  Repeat with the remaining chopped cabbage.

3) Combine all pot sticker ingredients except the wonton wrappers, water and olive oil in a large bowl.

4) To form the dumplings, place one wonton wrapper on the counter.  Place about 1 teaspoon of filling into the middle of the wrapper.  Brush a little bit of water around the edges of half of the wrapper.  Bring the dry edges of the wrapper up to meet the wet edges and press to seal.  The dumplings should sit with the crimped edges at the top.  At this point, the pot stickers can be cooked or frozen for later use.

5) Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, place the pot stickers in the pan.  They should sit straight up with the sealed edges at the top.  Cook 1-2 minutes, until the bottoms are nicely browned.

6) Add the water to the pan and cover.  (The size of your pan will determine the amount of water you use – there should be about an inch of water in the pan)

7) Cook, covered, for 5-7 minutes until the wrappers become translucent and slightly wrinkly.  Remove the lid from the pan and cook until all of the water has evaporated and the bottoms have re-crisped a bit, about 3-5 minutes more.

8) For the dipping sauce, combine the soy sauce and vinegar and place in a small bowl.  Serve beside the pot stickers.

I made this to take with me to Jen’s along with the salsa.  I love guacamole so much!  This is a super easy (and super cheap!) recipe that’s really customizable.  You can add more or less of whatever you want…and even my measurements are really only approximations.  I usually just start adding things and I eventually stop when it tastes right to me.  So feel free to change up amounts or completely substitute/leave out ingredients as you see fit.

Make sure to buy very ripe avocados for this.  You should look for fruit with very dark, black skin that gives quite a bit when squeezed.  Unripe avocados don’t have quite as much flavor and are almost impossible to smash without breaking kitchen utensils.  Which we definitely don’t want.

Guacamole

3 large, very ripe avocados

1 plum tomato, roughly chopped

1/2 large or 1 small white onion, roughly chopped

1-2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/4 c. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

1) With a large knife, halve each avocado by cutting all the way around the pit and twisting to separate the sides.  Using a large spoon, remove the pit and discard.  Spoon out the flesh of the avocado and place in a large bowl.

2) Using a fork or a potato masher, mash the avocado to form a relatively smooth consistency.  (I prefer the avocado to be smooth, but if you want chunks, leave chunks!)

3) Stir in about 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice and the onion, jalapeno and tomato that you previously chopped.

4) Place the minced garlic on a cutting board.  Sprinkle with about 1 tsp. kosher salt.  Using the flat side of your knife, press down on the garlic and drag across the cutting board, crushing it under the knife.  Repeat until a paste forms, then stir that paste into the mixture.

5) Gently mix in the cilantro.  Taste, and add salt, pepper and more lime juice, if needed.

6) To store, cover first with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap right onto the top of the guacamole.  Even though we added quite a bit of lime juice, the parts that are exposed to air will turn brown, but the plastic wrap will help.  Then either cover with foil or an air-tight top.

I can’t believe the summer is already almost over – it flew by so quickly!  As I’m sure you’ve noticed by the lack of posts these past few months, I took a little summer hiatus from blogging, and cooking in general.  I moved in with my little sister for the summer and didn’t want to lug my tons of cooking equipment with me for just a three month stay and little sister doesn’t do much cooking at all aside from making a bowl of cereal every now and again.  To be honest though, other than the bowl of spaghetti every now and then, I think I only actually cooked twice this summer.  Twice! I know, I can’t believe it either.

The good news is that I’m back and all moved into my house in Big Rapids and school starts on Monday, so I’ll be doing much more cooking (and blog updating!) now.  This weekend my group of pharmacy school friends are going on a little getaway to celebrate the last weekend before classes start.  My friend Jen (who made an appearance in the last blog post) has a gorgeous house right on a lake in Kalamazoo, so we’re all traveling down there and staying for the weekend.  It’s going to be so much fun – I can’t wait!

Jen asked everyone to either donate money so she could go grocery shopping, or bring some food to share, so I naturally volunteered to bring some food.  It felt so good to get back to cooking again!

This is one of the snacks I volunteered to bring.  I saw this recipe ages ago on 101Cookbooks and I’m so glad I finally got around to making it!  I’ve never made a salsa that involved cooking the ingredients, but it turned out really well.  Roasting the tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness and gives them a little hint of smokiness that goes really well with the chipotle chiles.  The flavor is definitely different than that of a fresh salsa, but I think this makes for a nice change every once in a while.

Chipotle chiles (which are smoked jalapenos) can be found in most major supermarkets, usually in the ethnic foods aisle.  They come in a small can, usually labeled “chipotle chiles in adobo sauce.”  The original recipe calls for a dried guajillo pepper as well, but I couldn’t find any at my grocery store, so I just left it out.

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Adapted from: 101 Cookbooks

2 lbs. roma tomatoes

1 large onion

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp. kosher or sea salt

3-4 tbsp. olive oil

1-2 chipotle chiles (canned, in adobo sauce)

1/2 c. cilantro, roughly chopped

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2)  Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and place, cut side down in a single layer, on a large cookie sheet.  (I like to lightly cover my cookie sheet in cooking spray, just in a case.)  Cut the onion into large wedges and place on the cookie sheet with the tomatoes.  Place the garlic cloves on the cookie sheet, too.

3) Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes, onions and garlic and sprinkle with salt.

4) Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the tomatoes have started to sink in the middle and the onions are lightly browned on the edges.  Set aside and let cool.

5) Once everything has cooled a bit, puree 3 tomato halves, the garlic cloves and chipotles in a food processor until smooth.  Roughly chop the rest of the tomatoes and onion and stir into the pureed mixture.  Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Jen was in charge of pounding the chicken breasts.

I really liked that this recipe was super simple.  You could definitely pull off this dish from start to finish in 30 minutes, easy, which makes it perfect for a weekday meal.  And even though you use very few ingredients, you still get a really nice, rich flavor in the end.

There are a few different ways to pound out the chicken breasts for this recipe, but my favorite is to use plastic wrap.  Place a piece of plastic wrap (about a foot long) on the counter, and then place one chicken breast in the middle.  Cover the piece of chicken with another piece of plastic wrap.  Using a meat mallet or a heavy-bottomed cup, whack the chicken until it’s about 1/2 inch thick.  This way it keeps the counter and your hands relatively clean, and it makes for a really easy clean up — just fold the plastic wrap over so the part the chicken touched is on the inside, and throw away!

Chicken Marsala

Adapted from: AllRecipes.com

Makes: 4 servings (1 chicken breasts each)

1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/2 inch thickness

8 tbsp. olive oil, divided

8 tbsp. butter, divided

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 c. Marsala wine

1/2 c. cooking sherry

1) In a shallow bowl or plate mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano.  Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, making sure it’s well coated.  Shake slightly to remove some of the excess flour.

2) In a large skillet, heat 4 tbsp. butter and 4 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat.  Once hot, place two of the chicken breasts in the pan and cook until lightly browned.  Turn the chicken over and add the mushrooms.

3) Pour in the wine and cooking sherry.  Cover the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.  Repeat with the remaining two chicken breasts.

Jen and her husband Frankie with their respective bowls of chicken (Jen likes mushrooms, Frankie doesn’t)

Aren’t they adorable?