I mentioned that yesterday was my hubby's birthday--so here is the chicken I made for him. It's a recipe adapted from Southern Living. I say adapted because I changed a few things from the original. (I've never been known to follow a recipe exactly!)

So without further adieu, may I present:

Birthday Chicken

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbls butter (the real stuff, this is birthday chicken!)
2 Tbls olive oil
1/2 cup minced shallots (about 3 medium)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) fresh sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Champagne
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream

Stir together the first 3 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Dredge chicken in flour mixture; place on a wire rack. Let stand 15 minutes Dredge chicken in flour mixture again; return to rack.

Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken to a plate.

Add shallots to skillet; cook, stirring often, 2 minutes or until golden brown. Add mushrooms and garlic, and cook, stirring often, 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Stir in Champagne and thyme; bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned particles from bottom of skillet. Reduce heat, and return chicken to skillet. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until done.

Transfer chicken to a serving plate. Stir cream into mushroom mixture. Cook 5-6 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve sauce immediately over chicken.

I served this over hot orzo, which is a small, rice shaped pasta. You could also serve this over rice or egg noodles.

To save money, I purchased a $4 dollar bottle of Champagne, which was plenty for the recipe, with some left over for a birthday toast! This recipe makes plenty of sauce, which I saved and plan on serving again over pasta. Bon appetit!