As Christmas creeps closer, I am gearing up for my one last big shopping excursion- to the grocery store. As you all can probably guess, that’s my favorite store. My family could get me nothing but gift cards to grocery stores and I would be a very happy Kristen.

The first items to top my list are for my Christmas eve meal- Chicken Marsala. I don’t know when it became a tradition for my little family to have Chicken Marsala on Christmas Eve. I’m sure it was sometime in my Masterchef phase of wanting to make fancy things and Marsala wine was on sale but al I know is that the fancy recipe evolved over time as I found ways to make it simpler, easier, and filling.

For those who don’t know me, I might as well explain why I am all about ease other than that I’m an exhausted mom with a fulltime job. I have an autoimmune disease colloquially known as MG, and it causes paralysis in voluntary muscles. The more I use them, the more paralyzed I get. So I have simplified this recipe into something easy and straightforward but I will let you know how it is *supposed* to be done along the way!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does as you enjoy a taste from my kitchen to yours!

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breast, sliced into ½ inch thick medallions (traditionally, you would pound these into a ¼ to ½ inch thick slab and then slice into large flat pieces, but this is one of my short cuts)

Flour for dredging, seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground mustard- plus whatever else you like

Olive oil for frying (try our House blend)

2 Tbsp Butter, divided

4 oz (1/4 lb) prosciutto (or thin sliced bacon), chopped into small lardons

2 Shallots, thinly sliced

1 Small onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves Garlic

8 oz Crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced

¾ c Marsala wine (You can get the cooking wine in the same aisle as dressing, or you can get the actual marsala from the wine aisle. Both work, but I prefer the taste, and the price tag, of the real wine.)

½ c Chicken stock

Parsley, chopped for a garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. Meanwhile, put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.
2. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Be sure to do this in batches if the pieces don't all fit in one round, adding more oil between the rounds as it is absorbed. Remove the chicken to a plate with paper towels to drain while the rest cooks.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add the prosciutto (or bacon) to the drippings in the pan, cook down for 1-2 minute to render out some of the fat. Now, add the onion, shallots, mushrooms and 1 Tbsp of the butter and sauté until they are nicely browned and their moisture has evaporated- about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Now, add the Marsala and let it boil for about 30 seconds to cook out the alcohol.
5. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce the sauce slightly. Stir in the rest of the butter and return the chicken to the pan. Let this all simmer gently together for 1 minute to let the chicken heat back through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Now I love serving this dish over rice so that it turns into a warm and filling Chicken Marsala bow l I even cook my rice down with butter and salt so that it is creamy and delicious all on its own!) but this dish can be a beautiful centerpiece dinner all on it’s own. You can also double or triple those liquids to make it go farther or turn it into a wonderful stew style dish.