Chicken with White Wine and Mushrooms

You'll never look at that same 'ole boneless, skinless chicken breast again after trying this easy delicious recipe. The recipe can be prepared in less than an hour.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breast halves, skinless, boneless
Salt and Pepper
All purpose flour
Non-stick cooking spray
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 14 1/2- to 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup dry white wine

Directions:
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; dust lightly with flour. Spray a heavy large skillet, add oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and sauté 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to rimmed plate and cover loosely with foil.

Add onion, carrot, celery, parsley and garlic to skillet; sauté 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices and wine. Boil sauce until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Return chicken to sauce. Cover skillet, reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken and sauce to plates and serve.

Seared Halibut with Green Beans, Scallions and White Wine Sauce

This recipe can be prepared and executed very quickly. It also uses few enough ingredients that you could purchase all of them in the express lane of your local supermarket on the way home from work. I used flash-frozen green beans and they were terrific.

Ingredients:
1 pound young green or wax beans
Four 7-ounce halibut fillets, each approximately 1 inch thick
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Non-stick cooking spray
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 scallions (green onions) white part only, finely sliced on the bias
1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
1 large, ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup diced canned tomato, drained may be substituted)

Directions:
In a pot of boiling salted water set over high heat, cook the green beans for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Drain and place them in the center of a large, warm serving platter. Cover and keep warm.

Season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper. Spray a 12-inch sauté pan with non-stick spray, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn, reduce the heat to medium, and cook about 4 minutes longer, until the fish is opaque in the center and browned on both sides. Put the fish on the platter with the beans and cover to keep warm.

Pour off any oil in the pan and add the wine and lemon juice. Raise the heat to high and deglaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until the sauce reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in the butter, a piece at a time, to enrich and flavor the sauce. Add the scallions, capers, and tomato. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over the fish on the platter. Serve immediately.

Salmon with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce

This recipe takes a bit of time to prepare but the result is outstanding. It is a good weekend evening meal. I hope you enjoy. You can substitute non-stick spray for the olive oil, but the olive oil is heart healthy and adds a nice flavor to the meal.

Sauce:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 cups dry red wine
2 cups canned beef broth
8 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Mushroom Sauté
6 shallots, minced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (1 teaspoon dried)

Salmon
6 5-ounce skinless boneless salmon fillets
salt and pepper

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add wine, beef broth, thyme and 1 bay leaf; boil until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 35 minutes. Strain sauce into small saucepan.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in another heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes. Add mushrooms; sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add tarragon and chicken broth; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve in a bowl.

Using same skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and sauté just until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Turn off heat and allow salmon to rest, uncovered.

Bring sauce to simmer. Add butter; whisk just until melted. Season with pepper. Serve salmon and mushrooms topped with red wine sauce.

Beef Medallions in Red Wine Sauce

This quick, rich entrée is terrific served over baked squash (acorn, butternut or spaghetti squash). In less than 30 minutes you can serve this restaurant quality meal that is rich in protein and nutritious. If serving with baked squash put that in the oven before doing any other preparation.

Ingredients:
One 1 1/2-pound beef tenderloin
Non-stick spray
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 large shallots, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 cups canned beef broth
2 cups dry red wine

Directions:
Cut tenderloin crosswise into 12 equal rounds. Pound beef rounds to flatten to generous 1/4-inch-thick medallions. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Generously spray a heavy large skillet with non-stick spray. Working in batches, sauté beef in skillet until brown on outside but still pink in center, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer beef to plate. Tent loosely with foil.

Add butter to same skillet. Add garlic, shallots and thyme; sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Add broth and wine. Boil until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Return beef and any collected juices to sauce in skillet; heat through, about 1 minute. Transfer beef to plates, Spoon sauce over.

Cornish Game Hen with Raspberry Red Wine Sauce

This elegant but easy recipe is the perfect entrée for a romantic dinner. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. For each person increase ingredients by ½. This is phenomenally delicious! (Chicken breasts could be used in place of the game hen).

Ingredients:
1 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-pound Cornish game hen, halved
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Non-stick cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil

4 shallots, chopped
2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2/3 cup dry red wine
2/3 cup frozen raspberries
1 teaspoons (or more) sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions
Preheat oven to 500°F. Sprinkle hen halves with thyme, salt and pepper. Spray heavy large skillet with non-stick spray, add olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add hen halves, skin side down, and cook until brown, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer hen halves to baking sheet (do not clean skillet). Place in oven and roast until juices run clear when thigh is pierced, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add shallots and sauté over medium heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add broth, wine, raspberries, 1 teaspoon sugar and allspice. Boil until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon, scraping up browned bits and crushing raspberries, about 12 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper; add more sugar, if desired. Serve hen halves with sauce.