For the last thirty years, I have prepared my family-favorite One pot roast chicken for Friday night dinner.  There is something about roasted chicken and potatoes prepared alongside the chicken that really feels like a Shabbos dinner.

Or,  so I thought.

The last couple of weeks, I have been noticing that the Friday night chicken has not been touched.

Leah has been campaigning that we skip the main course on Friday night.  After all, we start our evening Shabbos meal with kiddush over wine.  We then enjoy challah with an assortment of dips.  We move on to chicken soup, still a family favorite.  And, Leah is absolutely right.  There  just is no room for the heavy  one pot roast chicken.

So, I decided to change things up a bit for this Shabbos and prepare a lighter chicken dish.

It starts with boneless chicken breasts, a lighter option than whole roast chicken.  It uses wine and lime juice for the perfect balance of flavor and freshness.  Oh, and it is smothered with lots and lots of mushrooms.  It is fragrant and moist with loads of flavor and texture.

Now, the only question is…Will we skip the main course this Friday night?

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut or pounded thin
dusting of flour (I used whole wheat flour)
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil)
2 packages mushrooms, sliced or 2 large cans mushrooms, drained
Juice of half a lime or 2 tablespoons lime juice
3/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup soy or almond milk

DIRECTIONS

Place 1/4 cup of flour in a pie dish or a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Coat each piece of chicken with flour.

Over medium-high heat, heat oil in a large frying pan or saute pan. Add the flour-coated chicken. Cook each piece of coated chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Work in batches, setting cooked chicken aside wrapped in foil to keep warm until the rest of the coated chicken has been cooked.

Once all the chicken has been cooked, remove from pan.  Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, until mushrooms are soft and fragrant.

Add the wine and juice of half a lime, deglazing the pan with a wooden spoon by stirring in any brown bits left over from the cooking of the coated chicken.   Cook until the mushroom sauce is reduced to half.

Lower the heat to medium and add the pareve milk.  With a wooden spoon, stir well until the sauce is well-combined. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer the sauce until the sauce is thick and glossy.

Return the cooked chicken to the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes more, until chicken is fragrant, soft, succulent and cooked through.