Chicken Piccata~My New Favorite!

So in my requests for food ideas on facebook, my friend Sarah suggested Chicken Piccata.  Okay, I have heard of it before, but never knew what in the heck it was.  I looked it up and decided to add it to my list.  I made the same broccoli that I made with my Cilantro Lemon Lime Chicken  recipe a few days ago.  This meal is so simple it blows me away, but it is packed with flavor, and really very good!

So, I pretty much followed the directions offered  on Simplerecipes.com.  

It starts with butterflying the chicken, so it is nice and thin, and it will cook quickly.  

Next I mixed together the breading.  I didn't measure anything, and I kinda improvised on my breading.  I put flour, thyme, powdered Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper into the breading.  Then I mixed it all together.  I heated the pan, and added the oil and butter.  I fried the chicken, flipping it after about three minutes. After cooking all four pieces until they were golden brown on the outside, and cooked until done on the inside, I took them out of the pan, and put them on a plate in the boiler of the oven just to keep them crispy while I finished dinner.  

The sauce was beyond easy.  Just put 1/2 a cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup of rinsed capers and a few table spoons of lemon juice into the already hot pan, and cook until reduced.  The flour from frying thickens the sauce in the pan and you cook it until it has reduced by half.  

At this point I put the sauce in a pitcher style measuring cup, and took the pan off the heat.  I replaced it with my grill pan on the stove top and turned on the fire to heat it up a bit.  Then I cut up some broccoli and put it in a dish with a lid.  I dumped in some oil, and a bunch of seasonings, espeically cayenne pepper, a little thyme, and a little garlic.  I put a lid on and shook like crazy until it was all well coated.

And Voila!

  Incredibly easy dinner!  This meal took maybe 20 minutes from start to finish, and was very light.  It packs a punch with the lemon juice in the sauce, and any extra pepper you may choose to add, but I swear, I have a new favorite way to cook chicken!  Thanks to my friend for recommending this preparation.  I love learning new things!