Chicken in Crown Royal Cream Sauce

Hello All!
      I hope you had a wonderful Easter. I spent mine at work but that was okay it was still a good day. I gave up candy for Lent this year and for people who know me know I love candy. It was a long 40 days but I persevered. I will tell you the first thing I did on Easter was buy like 2lbs of sour gummy worms and eat them. No, not all of them. Don't worry, I was nice enough to share with my fellow coworkers. Next year I am thinking of giving up maybe French fries but that's going to be really rough. I love fries more than I love candy. I may try but I promise nothing. Hehe.
     This past week I have been trying out some recipes as well as brainstorming new recipes. First I started thinking what proteins I had in my house to cook. I decided on chicken but I didn't want just boring old chicken. I wanted something with pizazz, something to wake up my tired taste buds. Something that made me want to eat more than four bites. What can I say I eat chicken frequently and usually its either baked, poached, or grilled. Chicken is usually my go to meat in salads. Any way, I am rambling. I was also in the mood for pasta and then I thought about what I had in my fridge that needed to be used. I had half and half and parmesan cheese. I also had some Crown in my liquor cabinet and thought hey, why not try it in a dish? I have been wanting to cook with more alcohol to see how it affects the taste of the meal. So, be prepared to see more recipes featuring alcohol as an ingredient.
      I am really pleased with how this dish turned out. It was creamy and delicious and I will definitely make it again. Next time, I will try a different liquor, maybe Jack Daniels. This meal was easy to make and it did not take a lot of time so it is a good week night dinner. The most time was spent on prep. I hope this dinner appeals to your senses enough to make you want to try it.

 

Chicken in a Crown Royal Cream Sauce

 

Ingredients

 

1. 1 lb. of chicken cubed
2. 3 cloves of garlic minced
3. 8 oz. of mushrooms
4. 8 oz. of broccoli
5. 1 yellow pepper
6. 2 tsp. Italian Seasonings
7. 1 tsp. of salt
8. 5 T of salted butter divided
9. 16 oz. of 1/2 and 1/2
10. 1 T of olive oil
11. 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
12. 1/2 tsp. black pepper
13. 1/3 c. of Crown Royal
14. 1/4 c/ shaved parmesan
15. 1 lb. of favorite pasta ( I used penne)

 

Directions

 

• Melt 2 T of butter with olive oil over medium high heat
• Cook chicken until brown and almost cooked through -  about 6 minutes
• 
   
• Set chicken aside
• Cook pasta according to package directions in well salted water
• Add 1 T of butter to same pan you cooked the chicken in and melt, add peppers and broccoli with salt, pepper, and garlic powder for about 5 minutes or until they start to soften
• 
• Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes and then add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant
• 
• Add the Crown and cook until most of the liquid cooks off
• 
• Add the 1/2 and 1/2 and 2 T of butter and bring to simmer and cook until sauce starts to thicken
• 
• Add parmesan and toss together with pasta
• Serve with garlic bread if desired
• Enjoy
• 

 

     I think the Crown add depth to the flavor of the pasta. It was not just alfredo but better. The Crown took it to another level. I think next time I will add a little bit of red pepper flakes to give it a little bite. I am glad I experimented with the liquor it makes me want to cook with it more often. I am already thinking of other things to use it in like desserts. Sorbet maybe? I hope you are having a good week and I will talk to you later.