Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms

¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup water

1¼ teaspoons salt, divided

6 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

¼ cup finely chopped shallots

1 (8-ounce) package pre-sliced mushrooms

4 cups cooked egg noodles

Chopped parsley (optional)

· Place pecans in a food processor; process until smooth (about 1 minute), scraping sides of bowl once. With processor on, add water and ¾ teaspoon salt; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once.

· Sprinkle chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper

· Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan, keep warm

· Add shallots and mushrooms to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Stir in pecan cream, bring to a boil. Cook 1½ minutes. Place 2/3 cup noodles on each of 6 plates. Top each serving with 1 chicken breast half and 1/3 cup sauce. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings