Chicken Tetrazzini

No Campbell's cream of whatever soup here! I made this on the spur of the moment one night when we had drop-in company, and it turned out great. I had a ziploc with some cooked chicken in my freezer (part of my "one chicken, five meals experiment" that I'll write about later), and it made it a quick, yummy dinner.

1 pound mushrooms, trimmed and sliced (see note below)
2 c. chicken, cooked and shredded or chopped
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 c. white wine
4 c. milk
1/3 c. flour
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. panna
1/8 t. nutmeg
3/4 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 c. parmesan
1/4 c. fine bread crumbs
1 package pasta, linguine, etc. (plan on 100 g. per person including children)

Over medium heat, saute the mushrooms in oil until done and liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Add 1 T. butter. Then add onions, garlic, and thyme. Saute till veggies are tender. Add wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer mushrooms and veggies to a bowl with the thawed, chopped chicken.

Melt 3 T. butter in same pan over medium-low heat. Add flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, broth, cream, nutmeg, 1 1/2 t. salt and 3/4 t. pepper. Increase heat to high. Cover and bring to boil, then simmer uncovered till sauce thickens (about 1 minute). Whisk often during this time.

Cook pasta. Add frozen peas to pasta during last 30 seconds before draining. Drain. Add pasta, peas, sauce, and parsley to chicken/mushroom mixture. Toss until well-coated.

Transfer pasta to buttered 9x13 baking dish. Top with parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake uncovered till bubbly, approximately 20 minutes.

Note: This recipe was inspired by Giada's Chicken Tetrazzini in her Family Dinners cookbook which I love. In the original recipe, she cooks 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and uses that chicken for the meal. Honestly, with little kids, I'm always trying to simplify, and having chicken already cooked and in the freezer makes this a much more doable recipe for a normal week night for me. Also, while I love mushrooms, my kids do not. So if I'm in a generous mood, I will leave the mushrooms out...it's much better with them, but doable without.