Valentine's Day Meals in Minutes

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This is Lori bringing you today's meals in minutes!!

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes and a story about why it is one of my favorites...

On my third date with my husband, we decided that I would come over to his house, and I would cook a meal for us. When I arrived, I discovered that he totally lived the bachelor life (translation NOTHING to cook with) So we went to the store, and he bought everything I would need to make my recipe. (Pots, pans, knives, measuring cups and spoons; you get the idea) It was then that I started thinking that I could see myself with a guy like that... He was willing to do anything for us to have a nice date! So we went back to his house and I made the following recipe. He said he really liked it, but it wasn't until about a year later that I found out that he had decided that night that he HAD to marry me, because he loved my cooking! Silly story, but true!

What follows is the recipe for simply THE BEST Chicken Marsala EVER! It is super easy, ready in about a half an hour and makes you look like a rock star!

Now the recipe I have calls for you to use chicken breast halves and to pound them out thin for more even cooking. For my family (we have a 4 year old) cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces before cooking shortens the cooking time, stretches the recipe a bit to serve more if necessary and just makes the whole process easier during serving. But... if using cut up chicken offends your sensibilities, then go ahead and use the whole breasts, the rest of the recipe is the same. :-)

Here is what you will need:

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized pieces of uniform size for even cooking
• 4 shallots (If you don't have shallots, you can use 1 small yellow onion and 2 cloves of garlic both minced fine), minced fine
• 1 lb mushroom, sliced (I prefer Portabella, but use whatever mushrooms you like)
• 4 thin slices of prosciutto, chopped small
• 1/2 C. dry Marsala
• 3/4 C. heavy cream (DO NOT skimp on this it MAKES the sauce so YUMMY)
• 1.5 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. parsley

Directions:

1. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken
2. In large skillet, sauté chicken and prosciutto in 2 Tbsp. melted butter until lightly browned and mostly cooked through. Prosciutto should be slightly crispy.
3. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Melt remaining butter in pan and add shallots and mushrooms.
5. Cook until mushrooms are lightly browned and reduced in size.
6. Add Marsala and bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan.
7. Add cream and lemon juice and return to a low boil.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Return chicken to pan for about 3 minutes to reheat and finish cooking.
10. Serve over buttered basil fettuccine and finish with some parsley (also good with mashed potatoes).

This serves 4-6 people