Chicken Paprikash - a little on the lighter side

Back in ancient times, also known as the early days of Mike and my relationship, Mike did the majority of the cooking. This mostly went very well for me, as Mike is a great cook, but back in those days he was not known for eating the wide variety of food that he does now. So when I was craving some variety in the meal plan I would occasionally step up and cook something. And even back in those days I  liked to experiment in the kitchen. Yes, there is a point to this brief family history. Please be patient and try to keep up.

So one day I found a recipe for Chicken Paprikash in a Cooking Light magazine. This was a completely new recipe for me, and I am pretty sure it was a dish I had never tasted before, homemade or in a restaurant. I was pretty excited about the new recipe and I made it for dinner. It was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. Mike ate all of his, which I took to be a pretty good sign. So I asked how he liked it. The response: 'It's not bad, but my Mom's is better'. Yup. You heard correctly. Needless to say, I was marginally annoyed. Well, slightly more than marginally, but I am not one to hold a grudge. For long.

So I didn't bother to make the recipe again. Some things you just can't compete with. And eventually the memory slipped to the back of my brain and got put in cold storage. Until one day, over a year later, when we went to Mike's Mom's house for dinner... where she served Chicken Paprikash. And you know what? His Mom's was better. WAY better. This could be due to the pound of butter she used (slight exaggeration), but whatever the reason, her's was definitely better. And amazingly, this didn't bother me at all. In fact, I might just ask her to make it again one of these days!

In any case, the recipe I am sharing today is NOT her recipe. It is also NOT the Cooking Light version. This is adapted from a recipe that I found on www.allrecipes.com. I changed it quite a bit to make it slightly healthier. The reason that I am happy to make this version is that it is NOTHING like Mike's Mom's version, and therefore cannot be compared (and subsequently deemed 'not as good'). So I hope you enjoy this lighter version of Chicken Paprikash.

Chopped onion, because I put onion in everything.

Onion and garlic sauteed with the butter and spices. Yup... all that red stuff is paprika!

Added the water and started cooking.

One hour later...

This is the mixture from the sour cream (I used light), reserved juices from the can of tomatoes, and the flour.

Stirred in the sour cream mixture and the tomatoes, and voila!

Delicious Chicken Paprikash served over noodles.

Chicken Paprikash

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
3 Tbsp Paprika
2 lbs Chicken, cut into pieces
1 Cup Water
1 (14.5 oz) Can Diced Tomatoes

2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
1 (8 oz) Container light or fat-free Sour Cream

Directions

Heat butter in a dutch oven (or you could use a LARGE skillet) over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes and paprika. Stir together and saute until onion is translucent. Add chicken pieces and pour water over all. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour, adding more water if necessary.

Stir in tomatoes, reserving liquid. Stir liquid into a medium bowl with flour and sour cream; mix until well blended, then slowly add mixture to chicken, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture is thick.

Serve with pasta or rice.