Chicken Piccata

Chicken piccata is a very kid-friendly dish and there aren't a lot of 'out there' ingredients, so it's pretty easy to whip up any day. My kids call this lemony chicken nuggets, which is kind of what it is, in larger form. You can serve with some noodles or rice and a salad and you have a great meal. There are many versions which I have tried, some which are easier, but there is something about the triple-step breading that makes these kind of special.

Chicken Piccata

Timing - 30 minutes

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
flour
2 eggs
Italian seasoned bread crumbs
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 lemons, juiced
2 T cold butter, cut into small pieces

How to Make
Preheat the your oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with foil.

Between two sheets of saran wrap, pound each chicken breast with a meat mallet until about 1/4 inch thick. Salt and pepper the chicken to taste.

Heat some oil in a large frying pan. It should be medium high heat so that when you cook the chicken, it gets golden brown.

Set out three flat bowls, one with some flour for dredging, one with the eggs, beaten, and one with the bread crumbs for breading. Dredge each chicken breast in the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs shaking off after each layer.

Cook the chicken breasts, in two batches, for about 2-3 minutes per side until they are golden brown. It's important to do them in batches so that you don't crowd the pan. Place the browned chicken on the baking sheet and finish the cooking in the oven while you make the sauce.

Wipe out any black pieces from the pan and then pour the wine in and cook about one minute so the alcohol evaporates out. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice and simmer on medium-low until the sauce starts to thicken (about 3 minutes). At the end, take the sauce off the heat and slowly stir in the butter pieces to make a rich sauce. Pour over the chicken and serve.

Serves 4