Chicken with Mushrooms and Béchamel Sauce

Béchamel, which is a sauce made with milk and roux, a combination of butter and flour, is one of the white sauces, also called mother sauce, in the French cuisine and very popular in the Italian cuisine. Most cooks learn to prepare this white sauce first because so many recipes use this simple white sauce, like lasagna. Adding cream and cheese into this white sauce is the base sauce used in even more recipes. Other ingredients commonly added to béchamel are mustard and nutmeg used to top cooked meats or vegetables. I like to make this sauce in a light version without cream or cheese for a healthy meal. This quick and tasty chicken-mushroom dish using béchamel sauce is one of my favorites. Using leftover roasted chicken will add more flavor to this dish.
Ingredients:
Béchamel sauce:
2 tbs butter
2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup skim or whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
Chicken:
2 cups roasted chicken
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet white onions
1 tbs fresh chopped parsley

Directions:
To make béchamel sauce:
In a saucepan, heat milk to nearly boiling. In another saucepan, melt butter.

With a wooden spoon, stir in flour until smooth and while stirring constantly, slowly add the hot milk to the flour and butter.

 Continue cooking until the sauce is thick and smooth. Add salt and pepper to sauce and remove from heat.

To prepare chicken:
Heat olive oil in sauté pan. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes.

 Add mushrooms and cook until wilted (about 5minutes).

Stir in cooked chicken and béchamel sauce and bring to boil.

Let simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and enjoy!