Drunken Chicken Pasta

Drunken Chicken Pasta

Few things offend me as much as paying for food that I could have made better at home.  Most major offenders are in the form of pasta dishes, which, in addition to being very economical to make at home, should always be simple and have tons of flavor.  If I never have another bite of chicken alfredo that tastes like cardboard only to learn it had 1500+ calories, it will be too soon.  Pasta is one of the ultimate comfort foods, and it can be healthy if combined with lean proteins and lots of veggies.  The major thing is to make sure you control your portion size, which I've done in this recipe by only cooking up a half pound of pasta rather than a whole, so that when it is divided into four portions, everyone gets the correct amount of pasta (2 oz. v. 4 oz.).  Here we go-

Ingredients:
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes-well drained (you can use fresh if you have come into some small fortune)
1 pound chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
1/3 cup flour (omit this if you are using a chicken with skin, just saute your chicken skin side down first)
1 cup red wine (I used a cabernet-sauvignon)
1 cup water (use less if you don't like a saucy pasta sauce)
1 Tablespoon oil
1/2 pound pasta (I used rigatone)
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions: 
Place water in a pot to boil.  Cook pasta according to directions on box. 
 

Brown chicken in batches.

Heat some oil in a large skillet.  Meanwhile, if using skinless chicken, lightly dust the chicken in flour and set on a large plate without the pieces overlapping.  Make sure the oil is very hot and place chicken in a single layer (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan) and brown the chicken.  *The goal here is not to cook the chicken through, but just to get it brown.  You will put it back into the sauce later, so don't worry about cooking it all the way.*  You will notice brown bits that stick to the pan.  This is good, do not try to remove this.  When all chicken is brown, set on a plate and season the hot chicken with all the spices.  Keeping the pan hot (and adding a little more oil, if needed), toss in the onions and allow to soften for at least two minutes (should be more) until they start turning brown.  Add tomatoes and note that as the tomatoes start to give off moisture, the brown bits will start to come off the pan naturally.  This process is called deglazing, and it is delicious as it returns more flavor to your food.  Add the mushrooms and futher deglaze the pan with the wine and water.  

The tomatoes deglaze the pan.

Add the chicken back to the pan and allow sauce to come up to a boil.  Do not cover it.  When boiling, reduce the heat to low, and allow to simmer for about five minutes while you drain your pasta. 


Add chicken back to pan to finish cooking.

 Once the sauce has reduced, add the pasta and stir carefully so that the sauce combines but does not tear the pasta.  Taste your wine sauce and make sure you have added enough seasoning.  If your pasta was a bit bland, it may affect the dish.  Add more salt and oregano if the flavor is not strong enough.  Place on a serving dish and enjoy!  This one is one of my favorite things to make and the leftovers are amazing!