I'm a pretty experienced home cook. If I had to rewrite the instructions to make it easier to understand (and this is how I did it):
1. Cook bacon in the pot until crispy, then set aside on a plate w/paper towel
2. Cook chicken 2 minutes on each side then set aside on same plate (chicken will be slightly undercooked and that's ok. We will add it to sauce later and it will continue to cook)
^ unfortunately this part is not optional. If you keep meats in the pot they will overcook + make the sauce greasy.
3. Cook onions in bacon/chicken fat until translucent.
4. Add garlic and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are tender
5. Add all ingredients to make sauce, including tomato and seasoning. Mix
6. Add meats back to the pot
7. Add noodles to the sauce. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then turn on low/medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.
^ make sure there is enough sauce to cover noodles for this step. If there isn't enough sauce or your sauce seems too thick, you can add a cup of water or chicken broth.
Tips:
- If noodles aren't done to your likeness in 20 minutes, you can continue to simmer this as long as needed. Now that the meats are in sauce they will not overcook.
- Make sure to simmer on low so sauce doesn't burn on bottom of the pan. If sauce seems to get too thick as it's simmering, just add a little more water. It will be fine. 👍
- If you're afraid chicken breasts will be dry, just use chicken thighs instead. That's what I used.
6. Garnish with cheese and fresh greens like scallions or basil.
7. Serve
Done!
