Chicken Portabella Saute

and lastly: the all purpose, always enjoyable saute. i can't praise the saute enough. have a hodge-podge of quickly wilting veggies in your frig? saute em! have a package of fancy pants seafood you bought under an ill conceived notion that you would have time this week to prepare yourself a beautiful dinner? just freakin saute it with some browned (aka sautéed) butter. low heat, medium-high heat, ultra high searing heat - whatever! add some oil to a pan, let it heat up, add your food stuff, season, pour a (big) glass of wine - maybe even add some to the pan to reduce and ten minutes later you're groovin on. maybe its the wine but, its never failed me. but be warned: there are so few "seasoning" ingredients involved so you have to use fresh, high-quality salt and pepper - aka non of that 2 year old pepper/dust crap from a tin and go ahead and splurge on some quality sea salt and a grinder. if your seasoning dispensers have the option to "pour", "sift" or "spoon" toss it - grinding is what you want here. think club scene; you don't want to be spooned at a club do you?

sorry back to what you came here for. left over roasted chicken and meaty mushrooms makes a superb saute. if you are following my chicken posts you should have a bit of thyme left over too so add in the sweetly acidic punch of grape tomatoes and you have yourself one of the most versatile bases for dinner / lunch/ breakfast. you can easily add in a serving of pasta and sprinkle of parmesan for a "rustic" italian meal, add a few eggs & some goat cheese for a high protein frittata or simple serve with a little greens on the side - maybe some sautéed spinach! the idea here is quick, easy and a minimal dirty pot count. what more can you ask for?

POST 4:

CHICKEN PORTABELLA SAUTE

1tbs olive oil / unsalted butter

salt & pepper

1/2c chopped yellow onion

1 1/2c grape tomatoes

1 medium portabella mushroom cap (add stem if you are super frugal like me)

1tbs fresh thyme leave (pulled from stems)

1/2 tsp dried oregano or basil (optional)

1c shredded roasted chicken

*heat oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat

*add the onions, cook 5 minutes until softened

*slice the grape tomatoes in half, add to the pan.

*season with salt and pepper, add the thyme and dried herbs if using.

*cook stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until the skins are slightly seared and tomatoes are starting to release juices

*meanwhile clean mushrooms (wipe down with damp paper towel - do not rinse!) and slice into 1/4" - 1/2" dices

*add mushrooms to pan, cook another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are softened and almost cooked through

*add chicken cook another 2-3 minutes to heat through.

*turn heat down to low and let the contents simmer a 2-3 minutes more to allow flavors to combine. taste for seasoning and serve.