Cooking with Sugar: Chicken a la Gloria

Even with all of those new and interesting recipes out on the internet, I keep coming back to incarnations of the dish I have always considered to be my ultimate comfort food: chicken baked in cream of mushroom soup.  We've all had it.  All our moms made it.  Admit it!  It's ubiquitous.  But it's so darn good when it's cold outside, or you're tired after work, or after someone cut you off on the highway on the way home and almost forced you off the road and into a ditch.  Not that that happened recently.  Okay, it did.

This version of chicken in mushroom soup adds a couple new ingredients to fancy it up, namely cream sherry and Muenster cheese.  I think I can do without the cheese, but the cream sherry definitely gives it a nice flavor.  I may have to keep that idea.  And of course creamy chicken on top of rice is perfection.

Chicken a la Gloria
From Cooking with Sugar blog

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise to make thin fillets
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces fresh mushrooms (such as crimini), sliced
½ cup cream sherry
1 (10¾-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup whole milk
6 thin slices Muenster cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge lightly in flour to coat both sides.  Shake off any excess.  Add the oil to the frying pan and heat to medium-high.  Brown the chicken on both sides.  The chicken does not need to cook all the way through, as it will finish in the oven.  Transfer the chicken to a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Add the butter to the frying pan and let it melt.  Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.  Allow mushrooms to cook until golden.  Then add the cream sherry and allow most of it to cook off, a minute or two.  Add the cream of mushroom soup and milk and mix well.

Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts in the dish, cover with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes.  Remove the dish from the oven and top with the slices of cheese.  Turn the oven to broil.  Place the chicken back in the oven, uncovered, and cook just until cheese begins to brown, about 2 minutes.  Keep a close eye on the dish and do not allow the cheese to burn.  Top with fresh parsley and serve.

Makes 6 servings