Mushrooms and Penne in Wine Sauce

This time of year seems to zoom by.  Just a few more days left until the new year.

This is also the time of year when the stores put their leftover Christmas décor on sale….the longer you wait…the better the deal, if there’s still merchandise left.

I did great buying marked down cookie tins last year at an after-Christmas sale.

I was so excited because the tins were really cheap.  I bought a lot of them too….they were so cute, some with snowmen and some with holly……you know, the kind that you can only use at Christmas time.

And guess what I did with those cookie tins this Christmas…..

…..nothing, because I forgot I had them and I bought more at full price.  I hate when that happens!  (sorry…that was my inside voice).

Ok….on another note…

If you like mushrooms, here’s a delish pasta dish made with white wine.

It’s fun to use a variety of mushrooms when making this dish because they add such a nice texture.  This recipe includes portobello, white, and crimini mushrooms.

Let’s check out the ingredients:

Here’s how to make it.

In a medium saucepan, boil water for the penne.

Add the penne to the boiling water.

I like to use whole wheat penne but the regular penne would work just fine too.

Cook the penne until it’s al dente (fully cooked but not overly soft).

Once cooked, drain the pasta.  I didn’t do a very good job stirring the pasta when it was cooking.

After I dumped the pasta out into the strainer, the pieces that you see in the picture above were stuck in that position.  It seemed so odd that the pasta would rest in that place so I just had to take a picture of it.

Set the pasta aside.

Next…

….slice the mushrooms…..

….about ¼ of an inch thick.

Set the mushrooms aside.

Dice the onion and set aside.

Then dice the garlic and set aside.

Next, cut the chicken into bite size pieces.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat and add 2 tablespoons butter (reserving 1 tablespoon).

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet (reserving 1 tablespoon).

Next, add the chicken to the skillet.

Add the pepper…..

…..the thyme….

…..the onions….

….the garlic and the red pepper flakes.  Then stir together.

Next add the mushrooms.

Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the mushrooms.

Then add the wine.

Stir all of the ingredients together.

Add the chicken broth.

Let the liquid come to a slight boil for about 5 minutes and continue stirring while the liquid reduces a bit.

Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the half and half.  If you would like this more on the creamy side, add a bit more half and half.

Then add the remaining butter.

Next, add the salt and stir.

Add the pasta.

Stir all of the ingredients.

Just before serving, add ¼ cup of the shaved Romano or Parmesan cheese reserving the rest for garnish.

Stir the cheese in with the pasta.

Serve in shallow bowls,

…and…

…top with the remaining shaved Romano or Parmesan cheese and the chopped parsley. enjoy.