Baked Chicken Breasts with Savory Gravy

Wanting to get a decent dinner on the table quickly has pushed me to figure out ways to make boring chicken breasts into something interesting.  I think this is a wonderful dish. It takes some prep time, but it's worth it!!

1.  Start with some boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half.  Dredge the chicken pieces in flour.  

2.  Mince an onion and some mushrooms finely.  I use a small food chopper.

3.  Heat some oil (I use 4-5 Tbs of canola) and 2 Tbs butter in a heavy-bottomed pan to medium-high, just enough to coat.  The chicken does not need to "swim" in oil.

4.  Add the chicken pieces and don't overcrowd the pan.  If I'm cooking a lot of chicken, I repeat this several times.  You can see my pan above has a little "browning" from the first batch of chicken.  Don't move the chicken around, just let it brown on the bottom.  Season the top with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Let it cook for 3-4 minutes until nicely browned.  Then cover the top with minced onions and mushrooms and turn them over to brown on the other side.

5.  Once they have browned for 3 minutes on the other side, sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of white wine over the pieces.  Cook for another minute and remove chicken with all the sauce to a baking dish.

6.  Mix a packaged brown gravy mix with cold water as directed on the label (usually 1 cup water per pack) and pour over the top of the chicken pieces.  I use 1 cup of gravy for 5-6 chicken breasts.

7.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.  This is a great dish to serve company.  I've prepared the chicken up to step 6 a day ahead of time and refrigerated the dish.  I did the last heating before my guests arrived.  It's perfect every time!