I realize that the title for this recipe is a bit strange, but I use the chicken and mushroom base for various dishes, so please bear with me.

As we all know it’s been pretty darn hot this last week, using my oven is just not in the cards right now and I am sooo over barbequing. This dish is made on the stove top so it works whether it’s hot or cold outside.

We ladle this stew over smashed sweet potatoes or pasta and sometimes I add a 15oz can of drained small white beans to the mix and we just eat the stew by itself. I have also added heavy cream and continued to simmer for a few minutes before ladling over a bowl of pasta. We almost always sprinkle the above combos with some shredded Romano and parmesan cheese and finely chopped flat leaf parsley.

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Please feel free to add more herbs or other ingredients if you wish. This is a simple and delicious dish that can be made ahead and warmed up when you are ready to eat. I think it’s especially nice to have something like this in the refrigerator on a night when the kids have sports and you don’t have time to cook.

I’m so sorry, but I don’t have an accurate prep time as it was a crazy night at my house when I made this dish, but I’ll guess at 20 minutes.

Cook time is about 20-25 minutes

You will need-

I used a 5 ½ quart cast iron enameled Dutch oven. You can also use a 12” sauté pan. If you use the sauté pan your cook time will be a bit shorter as you are cooking on a larger surface.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large garlic clove peeled and finely minced

1 medium yellow onion coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ tablespoon dried, or to taste

4-5 pinches sea salt or to taste

1-2 pinches of coarse ground pepper or to taste

2 cups large diced, raw, boneless, skinless chicken tenders or breast meat

1 8oz package of crimini mushrooms pre-sliced or slice them yourself

Put the olive oil and the garlic in the pan or Dutch oven. Turn heat to low and stir the garlic in the oil for about 30 seconds. Turn heat to medium-low and add onions and 2 pinches salt. Let onions cook stirring occasionally until they soften, about ten minutes. Add the thyme and chicken, stir to incorporate. Add 2 more pinches of salt. Continue to cook chicken, stirring often, until cooked almost through, about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1-2 pinches of salt and 1 pinch of pepper. Stir to combine and continue to cook until mushrooms are soft and chicken is cooked through, about 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Enjoy!

Erin Walgamuth has been an assistant Food Stylist for television and print for the past 26 years and writes this column using her own recipes. Check out her other creations in our Hometown Recipe section.