Recipe: One Pot Herbed Chicken with Broccoli and Mushrooms

One pot viand has always been my favorite practical way of serving family meals within a budget. Saves you time, money (depends on the ingredients), and dishes to wash. 

This one pot chicken meal is one of my family’s regular. I serve them several times a month and may differ a little in flavor with whatever available herbs that are on hand.  For this recipe, I’m using a mix of fresh Cuban and Italian oregano because I happen to have a lot of them in the garden. I haven’t been regularly pinching the tops. Sometimes I mix them with dried thyme which I added to the chicken rub in this recipe. I used a mix of canned button mushrooms and fresh shitake for that umami flavor. 

To make the creamy sauce, I opt to use a canned cream of mushroom soup rather than making a time consuming roux or bechamel. I then added some broccoli florets because I wanted it to be a complete meal with veggies. 

CREAMY ONE POT HERBED CHICKEN WITH BROCCOLI AND MUSHROOMS 

Ingredients:

• 500-600g chicken cut ups
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. white pepper 
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. garlic powder 
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 100g button mushrooms, whole
• 80g fresh Shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1-1/4 cup water or chicken stock
• 5-8 small Cuban oregano leaves, chopped
• A few sprigs of Italian oregano, leaves only
• 150g broccoli florets
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup (I’m using Campbell’s)

1. Rub the chicken pieces with salt, pepper, thyme and garlic powder. Set aside.

2.In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat some olive oil and brown the chicken pieces. 

3. Add the onions, garlic and the mushrooms. Stir until fragrant. 

4. Add 1-1/4 cup of water and the herbs and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes on low heat. 

5. Add the broccoli in the pot and let it simmer for two minutes more. 

6. Once chicken and broccoli is cooked and the liquid has slightly reduced, transfer the chicken and broccoli to a serving dish. 

7. With the remaining cooking liquid in the pot, add one can of cream of mushroom soup and stir until thoroughly mixed and slightly thickened. Taste and season with salt if needed. 

8. You may optionally add an additional 1/4 cup of cream at the end of the cooking to make a creamier sauce. 

9. Pour over the chicken and broccoli.

Happy eats!