Chicken Picatta

Recipe & picture from ourfamilyeats.com.

Ingredients:

-2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts

-salt

-black pepper

-1.5 cups all purpose flour

-4 tbsp canola or vegetable oil

-1 clove garlic, minced

-1 cup chicken broth (I used Swanson's reduced sodium broth)

-2 lemons

-2 tbsp capers, drained

-1/4 cup parsley, chopped

-3 tbsp unsalted butter

Rinse chicken breasts under cold water & pat dry.

Season both sides of chicken with salt & pepper.

Place a baking dish in the oven & preheat to 200 degrees.

Place flour in a bowl & set aside.

Slice one lemon lengthwise & trim off the ends of one half. Slice the lemon half into small slices & set aside.

Juice the other lemon half & the whole lemon into a small dish & set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Lightly coat chicken breasts in flour & shake the excess off of each piece.

Place chicken in skillet & cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

As each batch of chicken is cooked, transfer to oven dish to keep warm.

Once all the chicken is cooked, add 2 more tbsp oil to empty skillet & reduce heat to medium.

Add garlic & cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, careful not to let it brown.

Add chicken broth & lemon slices.

Cook on medium heat 3-4 minutes or until liquid has reduced by half.

Add lemon juice, capers & parsley.

Cook until liquid has reduced by 1/3.. about another 2 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, add butter & stir until it melts.

Pour sauce over chicken breasts, garnish with lemon slices & serve immediately.

Grilled Chicken Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

This is our favorite recipe so far! I probably make it once a week now. haha.

I got this one from kevinandamanda.com too :]

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/grilled-chicken-pasta-in-a-tomato-cream-sauce.html

Their recipe is great but here's how I do it exactly:

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts

Montreal Steak Seasoning

1.5 of penne pasta [or more.. whole grain or regular.. it's delicious either way]

butter or margarine

olive oil

minced garlic [I've been using pre-minced garlic]

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 8oz. can of tomato sauce

1 cup heavy whipping cream

kosher salt

pepper

1 tbsp. basil

1 tbsp. parsley

I don't usually buy basil & parsley fresh just because.. it's less trouble. I buy fresh garlic but mincing it is a nightmare so if a recipe calls for minced, I have a jar of pre-minced garlic.. which I spilled ALL over my kitchen floor tonite. :[ My kitchen and living room smell pretty overpowering at the moment.. which I'm trying to remedy with fall candles!

Anyway, RECIPE.

-Rinse chicken breasts & pound with the smooth side of a tenderizer mallet until they are an even width throughout.. this way they will cook evenly.

-Season both sides of chicken breasts with Montreal Steak Seasoning.

---((((You can grill the chicken but I haven't tried that yet.. there are directions for that under the cut for the link))))---

-Heat a large skillet on medium heat & add 2 tbsp of butter & 2 tbsp of olive oil.

-Once butter & olive oil is melted, add chicken breasts & cook about 5 minutes on each side (or until done of course)

-If your skillet isn't big enough to cook them all at once, add another tbsp each of butter & olive oil before starting on the next batch.

-Boil a large pot of water & add 1 tbsp of salt. Add pasta and boil for about 12 minutes

-After chicken is cooked, add another 2 tbsp of butter & 2 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet (still on medium heat)

-Add about 1.5 tbsp of minced garlic & cook until tender.. doesn't take long AT ALL

-Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth & turn heat up to medium-high

-Let broth reduce by HALF

-Once it has reduced, pour in tomato sauce & heavy whipping cream

-Stir it all up & add about 1 tsp of salt & 1 tsp of pepper.. more salt if you prefer. Taste it to see!

-Turn heat to low and add parsley & basil to sauce and mix it up.

-Slice chicken into pieces & add pasta, sauce & chicken together and EAT.

I just ate a big bowl and I'm a happy girl right now. :)