Chicken in Sour Cream Paprika Sauce

HeatherFeather's Note:

This is a favorite family meal I serve often during the chilly winter months. Warm, comforting, and fairly easy to fix. Purists beware -while this may remind some of vaguely of a Hungarian Paprikash dish, this is NOT at all claiming to be a traditional recipe - just a comforting chicken dish in a creamy, red sauce that I like to serve over steamed dumplings. You may also serve this over buttered egg noodles, if you choose. If you use fresh mushrooms in this, I recommend peeling off their outer skin first so they do not release so much water.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• flour, as needed for dusting chicken
• 2 -3 teaspoons canola oil, as needed
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained or 6 -8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced, stemmed, and peeled
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed tomato soup (reduced fat is OK)
• 0.5 (10 7/8 ounce) can cold water (use soup can)
• 1 cup sour cream (light or regular but NOT fat free)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika, to taste (or spicy)
• freshly cooked egg noodles or steamed bread dumplings

Directions:

1. Lightly dust chicken chunks with some flour- just enough to coat.
2. Set a large nonstick stock pot on medium-high heat and add a tsp or two of oil (a little more if your pan is not nonstick)- just enough to prevent sticking.
3. Sauté chicken in the pan just to brown lightly on all sides- not to cook all the way through yet.
4. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon and set in a covered dish to keep warm.
5. Add onions and mushrooms to the pan and sauté until lightly browned, adding another tsp of oil only if needed.
6. Add tomato soup (undiluted), then fill the soup can halfway with water and add that water to the pan.
7. Stir in sour cream, the bay leaf, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste), and 2 tsp of paprika, either sweet or spicy (in this I prefer the sweet)- your choice.
8. Add chicken chunks back to the pan, stir, cover pan, and lower heat and let simmer approximately 30-45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked all the way through and is tender (meanwhile, start cooking your dumplings/noodles).
9. Check the seasonings, adding a bit more salt, pepper, and/or paprika only if needed.
10. Remove bay leaf and serve ladled over freshly cooked dumplings or hot buttered egg noodles in bowls.

Reviews

[Rita~]

After browning the chicken,fresh mushrooms,onions,& garlic I just had to add the garlic, I put it into a crockpot with rest of ingredients. I doubled the paprika and pepper. Very Very good!

[MizzNezz]

This is super good! I did it on the stovetop. I used fresh mushrooms and served it over wide egg noodles. Lots of flavor, very easy to make. All Im added was a salad and bread. This one's a keeper! Thanks HeatherFeather!!

[Trixyinaz]

I gave it 5 stars, hubby gave it 4 stars. This was very easy to make. I was done with prep and cooking and cleaning up all within an hour. The flavor was nice and the sauce was delicious. Hubby thought it was missing something - like hot pepper or something like that. Next time I make it, I might add a few dashes of tabasco, some cayene pepper and another teaspoon of paprika, along with an additional bay leave. Since he doesn't like mushrooms, I left those out and added garlic instead. Also, I used a whole onion (finely choped). The chicken was was so moist and delicious. I served this over wide yolk-free noodles. I cooked up about 8 to 9 ounces and it was the perfect amount for the batch of sauce. I am actually eating leftovers right now and enjoying it very much. I have a microwave in my office and everyone keeps popping their head in to tell me my lunch smells wonderful. Thanks Heatherfeather - this is a keeper!