Since we recently talked chicken, I thought it would be appropriate to share one of my favorite chicken dishes of all time: Chicken Piccata.
Chicken Piccata is one of my favorite dishes, but I only allow myself to eat the indulgent, less calorie-friendly version every so often (keep an eye out for that version, coming soon!). So I developed a way to incorporate a super healthy version (but still extremely tasty) into my weeknight repertoire. It incorporates mostly kitchen staples, with capers thrown in as the twist. Note, capers can last in the fridge for a really long time, and trust me, you’ll want to make this dish often!
What you’ll need:
6-8 frozen chicken tenders (for a twist, this dish can also be made with frozen tilapia)
1 tsp margarine
1 tsp minced garlic (from your jar ‘o garlic in the fridge)
Cooking spray
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp capers
All the necessary ingredients for Chicken Piccata - that's it! The chicken is in the pan, ready to go.
What you’ll need to do:
Spray your very large pan with cooking spray (not your grill pan this time, because we’ll really want to soak up the juices), and turn the heat up to medium. After it’s heated up, add your chicken tenders to the pan and cover with aluminum foil. Cook for about 8 minutes, then turn and recover for another 6 minutes.
Mmm... chicken is looking pretty good under there! It looks like it's almost ready to flip.
While the chicken is cooking, put your margarine and garlic in a small, microwave safe bowl (a cereal bowl works just fine if you don’t have anything else). Heat the margarine-garlic mixture on high for 30 seconds in the microwave, then add the lemon juice and capers and let it sit.
When the chicken is looking a delicious golden-brown color after the 6 minutes of cook time, pour the margarine-lemon-garlic-caper mixture over the top for the last 2 minutes of cook time, and cook uncovered.
The chicken is done, and the piccata sauce is added.
Turn off the heat, transfer to your plate, and immediately enjoy a healthy version of chicken piccata any night of the week!
The finished product - Healthy, Yummy Chicken Piccata. Tonight, I served it with steamable green beans drizzled with lemon and a lemon quinoa.
**Keep in mind, the best time to make your grain is right before you put the chicken in the pan. Get that rice in the rice cooker or the quinoa cooking on the stove. Tip: if you’re making quinoa, add lemon juice to it after it’s done cooking to bring all the flavors of the dish together. My favorite veggies with this are green beans (topped with a little lemon juice) or a bed of arugula (topped with a little lemon juice, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese – 1tsp each).
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