This was a quick and tasty chicken dish that is elegant enough for company. You can get fancy if you want and sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving. The recipe is adapted from one by How to Feed a Loon. I used Italian seasoning in place of the oregano and basil and I also added frozen peas so it was meat and a vegetable dish all in one dish. I'm all for making things easy! It is good served over rice or a side of pasta.
Chicken
6 6-oz chicken breasts skinless, boneless, pounded thin (or cut in half horizontally)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoon olive oil
Sauce
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 teaspoon garlic minced (or “jarlic”)
½ cup white wine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¾ cup chicken broth
¾ cup heavy cream or half and half
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
frozen peas, optional
If your chicken breasts are thick, cut in half horizontally. Season with salt and pepper and smoked paprika.
Heat olive oil and brown chicken on both sides. Remove to a plate and cover.
Melt butter in the same skillet, add garlic and sauté briefly. Add wine and scrape up any browned bits from pan.
Stir in the flour and cook for one minute while stirring. Add chicken broth and whisk until smooth and slightly thickened.
Turn the heat to low and whisk in heavy cream, Parmesan, basil, oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
Return chicken to pan along with optional frozen peas if using and simmer until heated through.
As Sassamanash Farms hunkers down for the long winter, Monica agrees to let the local animal shelter host their Christmas-themed fundraiser there. The draw of the event—a chance to have your pet’s picture taken with Santa—brings in animal lovers from far and wide. But when the crackling fire dies down and the festive holiday props are all carted away, Monica discovers a very un-jolly sight next to the barn—the dead body of one of the shelter’s biggest donors. With the farm’s good name in jeopardy, Monica goes to work to root out the killer.
By all accounts the victim was a charming and generous supporter of the shelter, but Monica discovers that he was loathed by those who knew him for being tight-fisted and unscrupulous. Suspecting money might be the motive, she turns her sights on his stylish wife and her lavish lifestyle, along with the manager of the struggling shelter, who stood to collect a hefty bequest from his will. But as Monica closes in on one final clue, the culprit closes in on her. Caught unawares, she’ll have to survive the brutal winter weather, as well as a cold-blooded killer . . .
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