Chicken Paprika

I am sitting here in good ol’ Northwest Arkansas Airport waiting to head back to Chicago and really not in the mood to respond to the emails waiting in my inbox.  People watching is at a minimum (because there aren’t many people here) and usually you don’t want to be working on presentations in this airport (because a majority of people in it are from competitor manufacturing companies here to call on Walmart).  

While hitting up the CNBC news store for some water and gossip magazines, the cashier struck up a conversation with me and asked where I lived.  Obviously I said Chicago, to which he replied “makes sense with your accent.”  I was a little taken aback – I know I have been living in the Midwest for a while now, but really!?!?!  I don’t have the southern drawl, but I didn’t think I had a Midwest accent either!  I quickly told him that I was from the South and proud of it. 

Anyways, over the weekend I pulled a recipe from my childhood that I hadn’t tried in a while – Chicken Paprika.  If I remember correctly, this one was passed to us from my Uncle Don.  I have a distinct memory of him being there when we first made it so I think it came from him.  It is definitely not one to make all the time because of the fat content (check out the butter and sour cream), but it is a great comfort food.  You probably don’t need two sticks of butter – you could peel it back to 1 and use some EVOO when browning the chicken or onions to make it a bit healthier.   Don’t be shy with the paprika, trust me…I like put in about 4 tablespoons. 

Ingredients

1 Yellow Onion

1 Large clove of Garlic

1 Lb Chicken breast (boneless skinless) – tenders cook faster

½ Cup Water

1 Cup Sour Cream

2 Sticks Butter (can be less)

3-4 Tablespoons paprika

1 Tablespoon Flour

Salt to taste (I put in ½ Tsp while cooking)

Dash of Red Pepper Flake (optional)

Egg Noodles (cooked per package directions)

Directions:

Sautee chopped onion and garlic in 1 stick of butter.  Add in chicken and second stick of butter and brown for about 10 minutes.  Add water, sour cream paprika, salt, red pepper flake (optional).  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Add in flour to thicken sauce.  Serve over egg noodles.

Recipe Source: Uncle Don

Picture Source: Lindsay Klindt