Taste Life Blog

Chicken Marsala

Danielle loves mushrooms and Brett can’t stand them. I decided to surprise Danielle and cook this chicken mushroom dish before Brett came home for the summer. My surprise? The day I was going to cook this for dinner Danielle said, “By the way mom I won’t be home for dinner!”

This easy quick dish makes great leftovers for your lunch. It also is elegant enough to serve to company and the mushrooms provide anti aging nutrition. Mushrooms are one of the best foods you can eat to give your immunity a boost.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into quarters

1/4 cup flour

Salt

Pepper

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 pound sliced mushrooms

3/4 cup Marsala wine

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a pie plate. Coat chicken breasts with flour mixture.

Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Cook chicken breasts until brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.

To skillet, add wine and mushrooms. Reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes until sauce is reduced in half. Return chicken to skillet and cook for 2 to 5 more minutes.

Traditional Chicken Marsala is garnished with parsley. Every time I buy parsley it goes to waste, so I garnish entrees with sliced green onions that I always have on hand for our salads. Serve with two vegetables and warm conversation.

If you are looking for a quick low cal, low sodium, cholesterol free way to boost your immunity look no farther than the mushroom. At a mere 20 calories per handful, mushrooms are a treasure waiting to be added to your favorite dish. They provide similar nutrition more commonly found in meat, beans or grains.

Mushrooms

If you are looking for a quick low cal, low sodium, cholesterol free way to boost your immunity look no farther than the mushroom. At a mere 20 calories per handful, mushrooms are a treasure waiting to be added to your favorite dish.  They provide similar nutrition more commonly found in meat, beans or grains.

Cancer

Mushrooms provide a powerhouse of nutrients that may help protect against some cancers. Scientists at City of Hope were some of the first to find a potential link between mushrooms and a decreased likelihood of tumor growth and development in cells and animals. City of Hope researchers now plan to apply this research to human clinical trials to establish whether mushrooms act as aromatase inhibitors in women. It is far too early to conclusively say whether humans will experience decreased tumor growth as a result of eating mushrooms. However, City of Hope and the Mushroom Council one day hope to be able to share credible science-based information that ties mushroom intake with decreased cancer risk, along with other important health benefits.

Vitamin D

No other vegetable or fruit contains Vitamin D. Similar to the way that humans absorb sunlight and convert it to vitamin D, mushrooms contain a plant sterol—ergosterol—that converts to vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. The top three selling mushroom varieties (button, crimini and portabella) have vitamin D ranging from 1 to 97 percent of the Daily Value (400 IU) per raw 84 gram serving^, which means they contain 4% of the Daily Value for Vitamin D.

Immune Booster

Mushrooms are high in antioxidants, selenium, riboflavin and other healthful substances that protect the immune system. Mushrooms contain compounds known as beta glucan, which keep immune cells in a state of vigilance, guarding against disease. In addition, research reveals that mushrooms contain ergothioneine, an antioxidant that contributes to immune health, as well as to the protection of the eyes, skin, liver, kidneys and bone marrow.

Umami

Umami is the fifth basic taste after sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Derived from the Japanese word umai, meaning “delicious,” umami (pronounced oo-MAH-mee) is described as a savory, brothy, rich or meaty taste sensation. It’s a satisfying sense of deep, complete flavor, balancing savory flavors and full-bodied taste with distinctive qualities of aroma and mouthfeel. The more umami present in food, the more flavorful it will be. All mushrooms are a rich source of umami and the darker the mushroom the more umami it contains. Therefore, mushrooms are a perfect way to add great taste to everyday foods. Umami also counterbalances saltiness and allows up to a 50 percent salt reduction without compromising flavor.

Source: www.mushroominfo.com Check it out for more recipes, research and fun facts. This chart explains more about mushroom varieties.