Creamy Mushroom Chicken

Sometimes the best things happen by accident. Two days ago I had been planning to make Hawaiian Haystacks. I'd had a chipped tooth fixed at the dentist earlier, so I was home recovering. I'm the biggest baby ever when it comes to the dentist. One, I require literally four times the normal amount of novocaine than the average person. My dentist said most people get 1/2 a shot, and he had to give me two full shots. I could still feel that drill inside my tooth. Luckily it was a fairly quick fix so I just grit through it. Second, I have to have that happy gas or my fingernails will become a permanent part of the arm rails on the chair. See? Biggest baby ever. Unfortunately, the massive amounts of novocaine and nitris oxide leave me feeling less than stellar.

Anyway, I was home resting, letting the drugs clear my body. When I woke up, I decided to be proactive about dinner. I put some chicken breasts in a large slider top bag, squeezed in a full lemon, drizzled some olive oil and smooshed it all around. I thought if I let it sit for a couple of hours it would be nice and tender by the time I cooked it. I ended up not feeling up to cooking so we grabbed some Chick-Fil-A which, by the way, is the first non-Paleo thing I've eaten in some time now. That left the chicken to sit overnight in the lemon juice and olive oil.

If you've read all my posts, you probably remember me saying my partner at work told me about a method used in another country where meat is "cooked" in an edible acid. Weirdest thing, when I finally pulled the chicken out of the refrigerator after about 27 hours, it looked almost cooked. Of course, I wasn't about to eat it that way, but it was incredibly interesting. Let me tell you, after this chicken was baked, it was seriously the most tender, flavorful, juicy chicken I've ever eaten. If you are able to plan ahead enough to marinate it overnight, I highly recommend giving it a try.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this mushroom sauce. It didn't thicken up the way the recipe promised, so I had to add a thickener plus changed a few other things. When all was said and done, I thought it was quite tasty. The full-fat coconut milk from the can is absolutely the trick here.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of any visible fat
Juice from one lemon
Drizzle olive oil (about a tablespoon)
Sea salt, ground black pepper, onion powder and dried sage

For the sauce:
Drizzle olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
6-8 baby bella mushrooms (depending on size), thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk (from a can)
1 T. coconut flour

Directions:
Put chicken breasts in a gallon size slider top bag (or mixing bowl). Add lemon juice and olive oil, mixing well to combine. Let marinate at least 15 minutes, up to overnight! :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray. Arrange chicken in a single layer and sprinkle each breast lightly with sea salt, pepper, onion powder and sage. Bake for 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees (or no longer pink).

While chicken is baking, prepare the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and cook until very soft and fragrant. Add mushroom slices and continue cooking until soft.

Add chicken stock and stir well. Bring to a simmer, then add coconut milk. Bring to a simmer again and sprinkle coconut flour over top of the sauce. Do not just "dump" it in or you're likely to get lumps. Whisk well and let simmer at least 5 minutes, or longer if necessary, until sauce is thickened slightly but no longer grainy.

When chicken is done remove from oven. Spoon sauce over each chicken breast, about 2 tablespoons on each. Serve it with your sides of choice - I did roasted red potatoes and sweet peas.