Chicken Piccata Now & Again

Chicken Piccata is a most forgiving and generous dish.  Incredibly easy to make and almost better the second time around.   I made this while listening to my dad contemplate how he will use up his perishable foods before he moves (he won't).


Chicken Piccata Now
4 Chicken breasts (Prepare at least double what you need for one meal)

1 Lemon

1 Qt Chicken broth

1 T capers

Olive oil

1 box pasta of your choice (whole wheat linguini)

Flour (whole wheat works here too)

salt pepper

1. Slice breasts in half horizontally. (Pound between plastic wrap or in plastic bag to increase tenderness).
2. Put flour and some salt and pepper in ziploc bag and place 2-3 breast pieces in, seal and shake.  Shake off flour.
3. Heat oil in pan (2 T) over medium heat. 
4. Cook pasta just a minute or two under the recommended time, drain.
5. Brown chicken on both sides in large pan and then remove the chicken. 
6. Pour chicken broth into pan, scraping the chicken drippings from the bottom of the pan.  Heat the broth and let it get thicker.  Don’t let it boil. 
7. Add lemon juice (lemon zest if you’re ambitious) from lemon and capers. 
8. Add the chicken back to the pan, let cook a little longer and add in the pasta. 

 Serve with vegetable.

Chicken Piccata Again

Freeze in vacuum sealed bags.  I use Foodsaver products I bought at Target. The manufacturer indicates that the handheld product and bags are for refrigerator only, but I froze the food and reheated it in simmering water without having to fork over $100+ for the freezing system.

Reheat in simmering water along with any vegetable (broccoli, asparagus).  Place vegetables in water midway through the reheat to blanche them.  Serve.

RECIPE

When In Doubt, Roast

Olive oil, salt, pepper and a 400° oven is all you need to roast any meat, chicken, fish or vegetable to perfection.
Potatoes (shown) for 45 minutes and turn. Make them in bulk to have throughout the week. I added chopped, fresh rosemary to these. Potatoes are more starch than vegetable so they will not give you the nutrients you need you need from our vegetable friends, but keep the skins on because they are a rich source of fiber and it makes prep even easier.
Shrimp (raw, peeled) for 5 minutes (no turning necessary). Roast shrimp in bulk and then reincarnate it later in the week: salad topping, reheated over pasta, sautéed with garlic.
Chicken for 30 minutes.  Make extra for future meals.
Vegetables for 45 minute, turning as needed.  The goal is to bring out the natural sugars in vegetables for caramelized flavor.
Fish (salmon, halibut (shown), orange roughy, tilapia, etc) about 15 minutes, no turning necessary.

RECIPE