Galinha com Cogumelos e Ervilhas - Chicken with Mushrooms and Peas

Every time I make a Portuguese dish, I feel like I'm going home.  One smell, one taste and I am back in my childhood in the kitchen, watching my Greatgrandma cooking, asking her questions about the food about the utensils, how you do this and that.

Hearing the TV in the other room, my brothers voices laughing and talking animatedly.

But the aroma, that is the biggest thing for me, it's unmistakable.

Funny how certain things are like trigger objects for our mind.

Next two weeks of menus will be mainly Portuguese food, except for one or two dishes that I had already planned on making, like tonight's Swedish Meatloaf, and tomorrow's Slow Cooker White beans and ham.

I'll post the recipes as I make them and I hope that for those who aren't Portuguese, that you will give these dishes a try and enjoy them....and for those who ARE Portuguese and far from home, maybe it will take you back in time, as it does me :)

Galinha com Cogumelos e Ervilhas

{ Chicken with Mushrooms and Peas }

Chicken Thighs
Olive oil
Flour
Salt and Pepper
Small onion, sliced
Linguica, cut into pieces (you can use Chourico too, or even omit if you want)
Handful of peas
1 can of mushrooms
Chicken stock (I use Knorr Chicken bouillon granules)
vinegar
about a cup or so of water
fresh parsley


Start by seasoning the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then coat it with flour.

In a big skillet, add about a tablespoon of olive oil then brown the chicken on both sides.  Remove from skillet and keep warm.

Add the onion and linguica to the skillet and cook until onion is tender.  Next goes in about a teaspoon and a half of chicken bouillon granules, about a cup of water and a smidge of vinegar, just drizzle a little in there, you don't want a lot.

Give it a good stir and then add in the peas and the mushrooms.  Put the chicken back in the skillet, sprinkle on chopped fresh parsley, and simmer for about 25 minutes until chicken is cooked completely.

  Make sure to keep checking on it and stirring, and keeping adding a little bit of water so it doesn't stick, you also want some gravy.

Serve with some buttered spaghetti, or rice, or potatoes.

I know I'm awful at writing recipes because I don't follow directions or measurements, I cook from the heart and I learned to eyeball everything.  So if something doesn't make sense or doesn't seem right, please let me know.