Coming Home...

I know, I know, I've been away too long. I could list lots of reasons why, but the only thing that really matters is that I'm back now! I have several things on tap to blog about, so hopefully my absence won't be a continuing thing. My schedule has been changing a lot lately, and combined with the whole dark-as-a-black-hole-by-4:30 thing we have going on the East Coast, my pictures and bloging have suffered. Never fear tho - I'm perfecting the styling of refrigerated leftovers for daytime photo shoots! And, I'm also starting to do a lot of my prep work on the weekends for dinners later in the week. I'm kind of hoping to do a series of Robin Miller-esque posts on prep-ahead menus that will outline how to shop for and quickly prep several REAL meals at once to make week-night eating a little easier. But we'll see how that plan works out...

But, in honor of coming back home to my blog I'm posting one of our all time favorite comfort food meals. And no matter how much natural light you have it doesn't take sexy pictures. But it sure does taste great. I mean, look at that... creamy chicken, bacon, mushrooms all over some wide ribbons of pasta. This is an easy, tasty meal that is a huge hit on a cold night at my house! I have posted about this recipe before, but I didn't have a picture and I've tweaked it a bit to make it even better. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Stroganoff
Mollie's Collection (inspired by Cooking Light)

4 slices thick cut bacon
1 large or 2 small onions, chopped
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1/3 cup AP flour
2 cups chicken broth or stock (homemade is fantastic in this)
10oz mushrooms, sliced (I usually buy the pre-sliced even tho Alton Brown is against it)
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
Splash milk
Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
8-10 oz broad egg noodles (or noodle of your choice)

Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook until crisp in a deep sided stainless saute pan. When all the fat is rendered out, remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. Leave the fat in the pan and lower the heat to medium or medium low. Add in the onions and saute for a few minutes until tender and translucent. (This is usually about where I get my pot of water for the pasta started - be sure to salt your water well.) Add in the chicken and let it start to brown on all sides - don't stir it too much, let it sit and get some color while it cooks before moving it around.

Once the chicken has enough browning to your taste, add in the flour. Stir it in well to get all of the flour coated in the fat in the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes. Add in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Make sure to stir up all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Once it starts to simmer and thicken, add in the mushrooms and the cooked bacon and turn it down to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes or so (this is about the time I try and get my noodles in the water).

While it cooks, put the cottage cheese and the milk in a blender. You just need enough milk to let the blender smooth out the cottage cheese. Blend until it is a very smooth and thick mixture. When the chicken mixture is done, turn off the pan and add in the cheese mixture, stirring to combine. (Note: You can substitute sour cream for this step, but the cottage cheese tastes better to me, and gives better body.) Season to taste with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper (if desired).

When the pasta is done, drain it well and put it into the pan with the chicken mixture. Stir well to combine and coat the pasta and let it stand a minute to soak up the flavors. Serve with a great salad and some crusty bread to soak up all the delicious sauce.