Do you have those go-to recipes in your head that you can just make with your eyes closed? You know that pinch of this and a dash of that are the perfect measurements, no need for measuring cups or recipe cards. That’s my chili recipe — honed over the years to be both classic and at the same time totally unique to me. For example, I alway do half beef, half ground turkey — you still get the flavor of the beef but it cuts down on fat; I also feel strongly that all chili should be made with tasty golden kernels of corn (fire roasted is the way to go!) and simmered for hours in a sturdy cast iron dutch oven (I love our Martha Stewart one.). And my secret ingredient — a trick my dad taught me as a kid — is to add a can of baked beans into the mixture for a little punch of sweetness to balance out the spice. A few weeks back my sister pointed out that even though I make this 2x a month all winter long, I never posted about it before on the blog. So here it is, finally written in stone for her to use (and hopefully you too!). 
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This weekend I was in major need of some comfort after a long string of holiday parties and maybe a few too many glasses of champagne (shh!). My usual go-to comfort food is a bowl of pasta, but I decided to mix it up this time and try a savory chicken dish with a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce, lots of sautéed mushrooms and shallots, and a little crispy bacon and goat cheese just to amp up the richness. Full recipe below if you’re in need of comfort food too!
Ingredients:
- 3-4 large chicken breasts
- 2 large Portobello mushroom caps
- 2 small shallots
- 2-3 slices of thick cut bacon
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil (reserve oil)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3/4 cup of light cream
- 1 tbsp of goat cheese
- 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan, plus extra for garnishing
- 2 sprigs of fresh tarragon
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Heat a large cast iron skillet on high and drizzle with olive oil.
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and brown in the hot pan on both sides.
- While the chicken is browning, roughly chop mushrooms, shallots, bacon and sun-dried tomatoes; mince garlic.
- Remove chicken from pan when cooked through, add 1/2 tbsp of the sun-dried tomato oils and 1 tbsp of butter to the pan, then toss mushrooms, shallots, bacon, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté mixture. (Scrape the pan to loosen any browned bits from the pan).
- Lower heat to medium and stir in 3/4 cup of light cream, 1 tbsp of goat cheese, and 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese; stir continously to break down the cheese and incorporate the tomatoes flavors with the cream.
- Add the chicken back to the pan while the sauce cooks and thickens.
- Remove from heat, garnish with fresh parmesan cheese and torn tarragon leaves.
- Try serving over pasta or a bed of spinach.
After a rather busy week last week, I was so happy to have a lazy Sunday on the books over the weekend. I caught up on blogs and my DVR, lounged around in my cozy new sweatshirt, and got a pot of bolognese cooking for the better part of the afternoon. Making a big pot of tomato sauce just reminds me of being at my Grandma’s house growing up — the smell of the garlic and onions filling up the whole house. I used a recipe from Williams-Sonoma as my guide, but made it my own with a few ingredient swaps. It totally hit the spot and exceeded my expectations. It’s a recipe that I’ll be adding to my cookbook file for future reference, comfort food at its best!
I’m not going to lie, I really enjoyed being snowed in this weekend. It was such a great excuse to be lazy, watch movies (saw To Catch a Thief for the first time!), and of course make some delicious comfort food. As part of my ‘get-your-relax-on’ strategy I made one of my favorite indulgent concoctions that I call ‘fat pasta’ (I’ll let you guess why). It was the perfect splurge for a cold wintry Sunday, yum! Sad to have to leave my house and deal with the aftermath of the storm today, I want my snow day to last for a just a little bit longer. 
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- 1 Box of bowtie pasta
- 3 Slices of bacon
- 4 Cloves of garlic
- Flour
- 2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Paprika
- Onion Powder
- Frozen peas
- 1 Cup of light cream
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Salt & Pepper
- Start a pot of boiling water
- Chop 3 slices of bacon into small bits, heat a skillet over medium heat and drizzle EVOO in pan, begin to brown the bacon
- Mince 4 cloves of garlic, add to pan
- Dredge cubed chicken in flour, season with paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper
- Add chicken to skillet and sauté (add EVOO as needed)
- Cook pasta as directed -- in the last two minutes of the pasta's cooking time, add in a handful of frozen peas, then drain and set aside
- Remove chicken, bacon and garlic mixture from pan and set aside, and melt 2 tbsp of butter in with leftover EVOO
- Whisk in 3 tbsp of flour until the mixture begins to thicken
- Whisk in 1 cup of light cream, 3 tbsp of parmesan cheese, and ¼ tsp of granulated sugar, continue to whisk until sauce thickens
- Stir in pasta and peas, top with chicken, bacon, garlic mixture.
- Season with salt and pepper, garnish with more parmesan.
