Chicken in Creamy Herb Sauce

I've made a similar dish to this one several times using a seasoning packet. Tonight I didn't have the seasoning packet in my pantry so I had to wing it. It just sort of evolved as I dug through my refrigerator to see what I had on hand. What ended up happening was something very different in flavor and definitely worth repeating in the future.

2-3 Chicken breasts cut into bite sized chunks

Salt and Pepper to taste

6 oz mushrooms sliced

1/2 onion sliced

1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth

2 oz fontana cheese diced

2 oz smoked gouda cheese diced

1/2 ricotta cheese

2 - 3 garlic cloves chopped

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley (I use flat leaf Italian Parsley)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon creole seasoning

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup cream or milk

1 cup chicken broth

Olive oil for skillet

R2-D2 to the rescue once again to quickly chop up my garlic 

(love it!!)

Heat oil over medium high heat in a heavy skillet. Saute mushrooms and onions until tender. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add 1/4 cup wine or chicken broth and continue sauteing until liquid dissipates. It won't take long so don't leave. (Look at all that steam!) Remove from pan and set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. 

Add a bit more oil to the pan and saute your chicken.  

Once thoroughly cooked, remove from pan and set aside.

Here I have all the stuff for the sauce. mmmmmmm

Melt butter in the pan then add the flour, stirring constantly until bubbly and a nice golden brown. You want to cook away the flour flavor but you don't want to burn it. This will take a minute or so.

Add the chicken broth and stir, loosening all the crunchies from the bottom of the pan (gathering up all that flavor) 

Then stir in the milk or cream. Mix thoroughly. 

Add your cheeses and remaining seasoning.

Reduce the heat to medium low and stir while cooking until the cheese has melted.

Return the mushrooms, onions and chicken to the pan

Mix and continue cooking until heated through

Serve over pasta. 

The smoky flavor of the gouda really popped in this recipe...YUM! Love that smoked gouda. Of course you can use any cheese you want or have on hand. I recommend sticking with the softer cheeses that melt well.