creamy shrooms chillin with spinach and chicken villains

okay. so. as we speak (i type?) the noodles are boilin away and the sauce is simmering. aka, heat turned down as low as possible so that it doesn't turn into a nasty congealed mess before i transport it into tupperware, over noodles and into the fridge for vlad to eat later. gotta keep the flavors together man.

so. start off with some boiling water, like a normal pot full. then throw some chicken into a nonstick skillet cut up into little chunks (i like using tenderloin strips, cheaper and easier to deal with). then sprinkle with some sort of seasoning..... if you're like me, then lots of garlic salt, pepper, maybe some spicy spices, some basil, etc.... for vlad, i used this mix called 'vegeta' and it's russian. he got it somewhere i don't even WANT to know where. russian stores are scary places, yo.

so grill these chicken bits up until they're cooked thru- they should be in no time. transfer these to a plate, i usually use the plate or container i'm going to put the finished dish in. less mess!

next, throw some butter in the pan. i used about oh 1/3 of a stick but by NO MEANS must any of ya'll use that much. vlad just happens to love butter. so. then toss in some shrooms (the more the merrier, i use the pre-sliced/washed ones in the produce section) and a few handfuls of spinach. (i use the pre-packaged spinach in the produce section. what can i say.)

both of these are what i call 'anorexic veggies', in that they shrink when cooked. a lot. so if it looks like too much is in there, it's probably just the right amount.

here's where i would have pictures, but........... yeah, not gonna happen when i'm cooking in a kitchen and sweatin my ass off bc it's 77 degrees outside. in chicago. in march. wha????? torture i tell you!

mix it around a little, let the veggies get a lil brown, then take about, oh, 2/3 of a cup to a cup of sour cream and plop it down in there. then take about 1/4 a cup of milk and splash that in there too. let that all 'marry' (i love that cooking term. heh. mix.) until it's completely combined.

about this time the noodles go into the boiling water; add salt to the water. why? i dunno. just do.

i let the sauce sort of simmer, boil, do it's thang, and then i start spicin it up. i add more chicken seasoning, some garlic sea salt, fresh rosemary (NOT TOO MUCH, like i did just now, or it tastes soapy. i thought i had WAY more shrooms than i really do. if this happens to you keep adding in a little bit of sour cream until it mellows out.) add basil, too, if you want. dried is fine.

then add some wine. i know. i know. if you don't want wine (blasphemy!) use chicken broth. but wine just works so much better. about, oh, half a cup or so. i add more, but i like that sweet bite that the wine adds.

stir it all up, then put it to simmer. (low low low....apple bottoms jeans... boots with tha fur.... WITH THA FURRRR) (sorry. flo'rida got the best of me. forgive. forgive.)

then strain the noodles when they're done- i like mine super soft, so does vlad, so as i type this entire post they're boiling. heh. then pour sauce over noodles, and enjoy!!!!

it really isn't as hard as i initially thought it to be. and it does kinda taste like a stroganoff, but... not. who knows. it's creamy shrooms with spinach and chicken and that works for me.

also, use angel hair. bc angel hair is the sweetest bestest of all the pastas.

and if you didn't give a crap about this recipe? ignore, please, and go drink that wine instead of cookin' with it. amen.


UPDATE!!!!!!

so, i had some angel hair left over. and DUH you just DON'T WASTE ANGEL HAIR (sorry for yelling but it's so true!!!) so what did i do? i'm like, hrm.... i ain't gots no sauce... but.... i do have like.... four sparse leaves of spinach left over. so.

i threw some pre-minced canned garlic i keep on hand (it is the food straight from gods fingers, i tell ya) right into the dirty pan i just emptied that had vlads sauce in it, along with some spinach and some olive oil. five minutes later, i pour this heavenly smelling goodness over the angel hair... toss..... taste...... add some pre-shredded generic-brand 'italian blend' cheese on there, shake it up.....

oh, holy hell, this is the best damn pasta ever. if you love garlic, like i do. light oil, just enough cheese to cause that sweet tang, lots and lots and lots of garlic to bite into and spinach to make the consistency interesting.

i done did good, i tell ya. two different pastas for two people for two nights, and i spent around 11 bucks. can't beat that with a stick. (not including cost of wine. but duh. it's a necessity right? so it doesn't count? right?....??)