Recipe: 30 minutes or less: Paprika Chicken

You may have figured out that when it comes to cooking I'm all about (1) quick and (2) easy.  Yes, I'd also like to get "yummy" out of my meals and this one delivers on all 3.

When I got married, I got gifted several cookbooks from The Pampered Chef - one of our favorite recipes out of the 29 Minutes or Less cookbook is Paprika Chicken & Egg Noodles.

I'll share the recipe in it's entirety along with the changes I made in parenthesis.  This is a great recipe because you're constantly moving in the kitchen and before you know it - bam done!  I'm also able to get 85% of the dishes done before the meal is ready (a favorite bonus perk of mine).

Ingredients:

• 8 oz green beans (I've used both fresh & canned - my guys prefer canned).
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I use maybe 1/3 of a pound and use chicken breast meat)
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt (I just shake the shaker a few times)
• 1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper (again, I just shake the shaker a few times)
• OPTIONAL: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I do use this and I don't tolerate spicy food well, so non-spicy food eaters should be ok)
• 8 oz mushrooms (I do presliced from the store because I'm lazy)
• 1 medium onion (I have never used an entire onion in a meal before - I use 1/4 of a medium onion for this)
• 3 tbsp butter, divided
• 8 oz uncooked egg noodles (one bag of noodles makes two meals!)
• OPTIONAL: 2 tbsp snipped fresh dill (I've never used this)
• OPTIONAL: sour cream (I've never used this)

Steps:

1. Bring salted water to boil.  If using fresh green beans, cut diagonally into 2-in pieces, set aside.
2. Lightly spray skillet with vegetable oil; heat over medium high heat 1-3 minutes or until hot.  Meanwhile, dice chicken into 1-in pieces; sprinkle with paprika, salt, black pepper & cayenne pepper, if desired.  Cook 5-7 minutes or until centers of chicken are no longer pink, stirring occasionally.  Remove chicken from skillet, set aside.
3. As chicken cooks, cut mushrooms into quarters (or if you're me, wash some dishes).  Cut onion in half lengthwise, then into 1/2-in wedges (I cut mine to the point I can put it into my food processor and let it do the work).  Add 1 tbsp of butter to skillet.  Cook and stir mushrooms and onion over medium high heat 5 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Meanwhile (by meanwhile, I usually do this before I start the chicken on step 2 above), add noodles to boiling water and cook 2 minutes.  Add green beans and cook uncovered, 5-6 minutes or until noodles are cooked to desired tenderness.  Carefully remove 3/4 cup of the cooking water for use in sauce.  Drain noodles and green beans using colander.
5. Add chicken and cooking water to skillet; stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet.  Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until sauce is thickened and chicken is heated through.
6. Meanwhile, toss noodles and green beans with remaining 2 tbsp butter.

The recipe says to serve by putting the noodles/green beans on the plate and then topping with chicken/vegetable mixture - however, I've taken to mixing everything together in one pan as I feel that gives the overall meal a better flavor - feel free to serve it however you'd like!  If you'd like to use dill and/or sour cream, the recipe states to add it as a garnish to each individual plate.

Pictures of the magic happening:

Haha, those bottom few show: (1) that I can do dishes while I cook; (2) proof kids will eat it too and (3) the finished yum yum product.

Share links to your favorite 30 minutes or less recipes below, I'm always looking to try new things.

Bon appetit!