Chicken Fettucini

I promised some of you my Chicken Fettucini recipe on Facebook, so here goes... (Wish I had taken a photo to share, but my hungry belly took over!)

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small pkg fettucini noodles
1 carton half and half (I use the smaller one, 8 oz?)
1/4 cup butter (or margarine or vegetable spread)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 splash milk
1 carton white sliced mushrooms, stems removed (I use the single carton found in produce)
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers & onions (I use a frozen mix so I don't waste any fresh produce)
salt & pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
cajun seasoning

**Please note, this is a serving perfect for two hungry adults with a little leftover, so double if you have some kiddos to feed!

Directions:

Cook chicken breasts in skillet (or however you like) and slice into thin strips. I'm a cooking multi-tasker, so if you can handle the heat have your bell peppers & onions with 1 tbsp butter cooking in a separate pot while the chicken is cooking or while you're slicing. Once veg mixture starts to get soft, throw in your mushrooms. Do not season until mushrooms begin browning. I usually just add a little S&P at the browning point. You'll add more seasonings later.

Now that your veggies are ready, add the carton of half and half and turn to medium heat. Once your half and half starts to bubble a little, add butter and stir well. Don't let the mixture stay on medium heat - the half and half may burn. Turn heat to medium low, around 1 or 2 on your range. Stick close to the stove at this point until dinner is done. At this point, you can take a minute to fill a large pot with water and get the noodles boiling.

Note: When noodles are done, I strain them over the sink in my strainer bowl, then add a little olive oil & toss. This keeps the noodles from sticking together and you'll be able to step away from them without worry.

Stir every minute or so, the half and half should start to thicken a little. After about ten minutes, take your tbsp of flour and slowly add to the sauce, stirring constantly. When all the flour is in and mixed well, you can decide then if you like the consistency of your cream sauce. If its too thick for your taste, add that splash of milk and stir.

Add the seasonings listed above to taste. I'm a big seasoner and use probably around a half a tbsp of each seasoning or so, then taste and usually add more of what I think it needs at the end. Its all about what your family likes - I'd hate to recommend too much and have your family guzzling water, swearing off this recipe!

Serve: I keep my cream sauce, chicken and noodles separate, then we add to our bowl in layers - noodles, chicken, then cream. I find this works best if you have leftovers to reheat and you can choose the amount of chicken you want in your bowl. My husband piles it on, I like a little less so I can taste the veggies more.

Enjoy! And please, feel free to ask questions. Unlike my crock pot recipes, this is a little more work and if you aren't a regular cream saucer, questions about technique are normal!