Kickin' Chicken To The Rescue!

Tammy's mom came to live with us for 2 and a half weeks. And she has no money... oh joy! *Eye roll* Anyway, because I now have to stretch my meager resources to accommodate three people instead of just us two, we've been eating a lot of chicken because it's cheap. While she and I were visiting her sister in New Hampshire, we went to a small farmer's market in Exeter. They had a lot of free taste testing, and you best believe I partook. (Tams sat on a bench the whole time because she's a complete spoil sport- her loss) I had Indian food for free, all kinds of cheeses, dips, honey and even chocolate. One of the stands sold special spice blends from a company called Buzz Bomb. (See their website here.) The lady had a cream dip made with a blend she called Kickin' Chicken. I tried it and WOW, was it really good. I bought a package from her on the spot. Tam's sister got one too, and used it as a rub for cornish hen. That was delicious, so when it was time to cook that chicken for Tam, her mom and I, I turned towards my Kickin Chicken impulse buy and prayed, "Don't you dare fail me now."

This is what the label looks like, and despite it's name, the flavors are more zesty than spicy. Whatever's in there compliments chicken so well, I designed a dish around it... which I will share with you, of course.

 Kickin' Chicken With Mushroom Gravy

45 Minutes to make
Yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 Large white spanish onion, sliced into strips
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Package (about 10) white button mushrooms, sliced
1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom with roasted garlic
2/3 Cup Dry cooking wine
2 Tbspns butter or margarine
chicken stock or water
Kickin' chicken spice blend
I had 6 chicken thighs and 3 breasts, you don't have to make so much but I had company.
Either rice or noodles to serve it over

Method
Heat up the onions, garlic and mushrooms in a large sauté pan over high flame until caramelized.
Add the stock or water and scrape up the brown from the pan, this will add flavor to your sauce.
Put the chicken on top of the veggies and then sprinkle generously with the seasoning blend. Cook for about five minutes, all the while scooping the veggies from the bottom to lie on top of the chicken.

Add the cooking wine, then cut the butter up into slices and place it on top of the chicken, allowing it to melt before stirring it in. This will further flavor and tenderize the meat.
If you have a cover for the sauté pan, you can use it. If not, it's fine, just make sure the veggies for the most part remain on top of the chicken.

After about 15-20 minutes, flip the chicken over, once again scooping the fixings on top of the meat, this insulates the chicken and prevents the veggies from burning.
This is about the time you should put up the water for your noodles or rice. (psst-- wide egg noodles go excellent with this gravy!)

When the chicken is cooked through (After about 40 minutes) mix in the can of mushroom gravy, this will thicken up the already savory juice and make your dish complete!
Let it simmer on a low flame for a little while until you have your side dish cooked and drained. Serve the chicken and gravy over the starch, and viola! You're a culinary deity. Your guests/kids will be tweeting about what an awesome dinner they had. Seriously.

Warning: This dish may cause frequent surprise house guests looking for an encore.