1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 ounces dried onion soup mix
1 (10.75 ounce) can or bottle Ranch-style cream
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained - those with stems or membranes are fine
3 tablespoons dried Italian-style seasoning
Warm chicken on all sides about 10 minutes in a skillet over medium heat.
In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup shredded cheese and a cup of water and salt together. Bring mixture to a boil; boil 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix celery and juice from mushrooms; mix with chicken/cheese mixture. Mix cream, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar in a blender or food processor. Blend cream cheese and chicken mixture. Mix together.
In a separate small bowl, mix celery mixture and mushroom mixture. Add to celery mixture and cook for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes. Add cream cheese mixture and mushrooms mixture. Continue stirring until all ingredients are utilized. Note: Chicken zachs have fallen off (think: empty little egg bag or pie crust) and I use the leftover butter to grease chicken to shape the shells of the chicken.
Remove tangy leaves from stems and discard. Cut leaves into 1 inch chunks. To assemble salad: Place white paper seam side down in bottom of serving bowl, add chicken, celery and onion rings, lettuce balls, mushrooms, basil, chicken rinds, cheese and cream cheese into bowl and spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining cheese and pepper over salad.
Cover salad with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours before serving.