Chicken Marsala is something that has been on our "to-try" list for awhile - ever since we started making peace with mushrooms, actually. Believe it or not, for the first eight years or so of our married life, we didn't do mushrooms. It was never a taste thing, of course - mushrooms primarily absorb the tastes of the ingredients around them - but a texture one. Like so many things, though, the reality is that it was merely the fear of the unknown. Neither of us was comfortable cooking with mushrooms, so we chose not to. The story was very similar with onions, and even, at one point very early on, with (gasp!) tomatoes!

We actually have our four-year-old, Eden, of all people, to thank for helping us overcome our fear of mushrooms. We were out to dinner with my in-laws at a Japanese restaurant, and she happened to have a taste of an entree that featured mushrooms quite prominently. She loved it. A month or two later, Chels's new stepmother, who is a native of Beijing, came to stay with us for a few days. She fixed some incredible, completely authentic Chinese food where mushrooms played a major role, and Eden was totally won over. She demanded that we begin including mushrooms in our menu. As anyone who reads Catz knows, encouraging our girls to have a wide-ranging palate is one of our primary passions, so who were we to stand in her way? Mushrooms were back on the table.

This particular recipe for chicken marsala is a "skinny" recipe from Women's Health Magazine. Don't let the low-fat and low-calorie ingredient list fool you, though - this is a rich, flavorful affair. Actually, the hardest thing for me to pin down here was where to buy Marsala wine. Our local supermarket has a very substantial wine selection, but after twenty minutes of searching, I was ready to give up. Chels then informed me that she thought Marsala was a dessert wine - sure enough, that's where I found it. True Marsala wine comes from Marsala, a Sicilian city in Italy, but you can save yourself a few bucks by purchasing a Californian Marsala - it shouldn't set you back more than six or seven dollars.

A couple of quick notes on this excellent recipe (which I was not familiar enough with to feel comfortable tweaking just yet) - first, if you don't have chicken cutlets, you can use chicken breast. Just cut the breasts into strips about three or four inches long and one inch wide. Secondly, the original recipe had some very basic notes about suggested sides. I didn't have any sides planned, so I went ahead and made the suggested ones, filling in the details, and adding a bit here and there where the explanation was thin. I'll include the recipes for the sides as I made them with the original chicken Marsala recipe below. Enjoy!

{Skinny} Chicken Marsala with Honey Glazed Carrots and Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Sourced from Women's Health Magazine
Craving an indulgent and flavorful entree, but not the calories that normally accompany such a meal? This entire dinner is under 400 calories, so enjoy it guilt-free!

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
Chicken Marsala
1 ½ lbs chicken cutlets or sliced chicken breast
8 oz (2-3 cups) sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoon whole wheat flour
3 tablespoon white flour
1 thinly sliced medium shallot
¼ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup Marsala wine
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
½ teaspoon freshly chopped thyme

Honey Glazed Carrots
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon honey

Creamy Mashed Potatoes
5 medium red potatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon skim milk

Directions

1. Bring a 3 qt (2.8 L) saucepan of water to a boil. Add potatoes and boil for 15-20 minutes, or until soft.
2. Combine flours and pepper in a shallow bowl or pie plate, and dredge the chicken pieces in the mixture. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
3. Coat a large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray and bring it to medium heat. Sauté the chicken until it is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes per side. This may take a few minutes longer if you're using breasts instead of cutlets. Place chicken pieces on oven-safe plate and transfer to preheated oven.
4. Add mushrooms and shallots to pan and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring. Add Marsala, reducing to a glaze while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden or plastic spatula to free up any brown bits remaining.
5. Bring a 1 ½ qt (1.4 L) saucepan of water to a boil. Add carrots and boil for 5-10 minutes, or until somewhat soft, but not mushy.
6. Reduce heat slightly, and add parsley, thyme, and chicken broth. Stir and cook until the broth has reduced by half.
7. Remove chicken from oven and return it to the pan. Simmer for approximately five minutes.
8. Drain potatoes, return to pot and add yogurt, butter, and milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Mash with a potato masher and then stir with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy.
9. Drain carrots and return to pot. Add honey and stir to coat. Serve immediately.