Quick + Easy Chicken Marsala + Chocolate Cake

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is super easy to make and it tastes way better homemade than from a restaurant. 

When I make this, I usually cook enough to last for two or three meals. I love to serve it with a salad and either homemade loaves of Italian bread or large batches of angel hair pasta tossed with olive oil + herbs.  

Ingredients:

4	skinless, boneless	chicken breasts
1	cup	flour
½	cup	olive oil
8	oz	Cleaned + sliced mushrooms
2	tablespoons	butter
½	cup	sweet marsala wine
½	cup	chicken stock/broth
		Salt + Pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Pour flour into a large ziplock bag.  
2. Slice chicken breasts into cutlets.  Click here to learn how, if you are not sure.
3. Lightly season sliced chicken breast cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large pan.
5. While the oil is heating, place 3 or 4 chicken cutlets into the flour bag.  Shake it like a polaroid picture  Continue until all of your cutlets are coated.
6. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Season w/ salt + pepper if you would like to.  
7. Soak excess oil from the cooked chicken by blotting them on paper towel-lined plates, then place them on your serving dish.
8. Add the butter and the mushrooms to the empty pan. Saute the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper 
9. Add the marsala and chicken stock to the mushrooms.  Let some of the liquid evaporate to concentrate the flavors. 
10. Pour the mushrooms and sauce over the cooked chicken.  Serve.  Enjoy. 

Dessert!!

Since exam week is stress-eating week for many students, it’s nice to have something sweet around that doesn’t come out of a box or plastic package to satiate (ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus!) those pre-test cravings.

It’s kind of risky to send out a recipe that I have not tried yet, I know, but I WILL try it this weekend and I hope that you will too.  My one concern is that there is very little cocoa in this recipe.  I will probably decrease the sugar by ~1/4 cup and stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to make the cake a little more chocolate-y.

It looks so ridiculously easy.  If you have time, let us know how it turns out :)

cut-and-pasted from:  http://www.marthastewart.com/334278/busy-day-chocolate-cake

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 cup cold water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In an 8-inch square baking pan, whisk together all-purpose flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and coarse salt.
2. Make a well in center of flour mixture and add vegetable oil, pure vanilla extract, white vinegar, and cold water. Whisk until well combined. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Happy Cooking