Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

Guess who’s back? Back again. Angie’s back. Tell a friend. (Don’t ever call me Angie by the way or I will cut you.) So, where have I been might you ask? Well, I’ve been busy. Very busy. And tired. I’ve been traveling a lot too. I also threw my boys a massive 2nd and 4th birthday party which totally wore me out. I’ve barely cooked a decent meal in the last couple months. Or at least nothing worthy of a “blog post.” And you know what? This blogging crap is a lot of work. I mean a lot. It’s fun and I love it though. I especially love hearing feedback from people. I had a man come up to me at the golf course where my husband plays and said, “hey i love your blog! I made your chicken soup. I hated it. My wife loved it though.” Hahahahaha! I’ve gotten lots of really sweet comments from people and I’m so glad most have been enjoying it! You know half the time when I’m doing this I have my kids screaming at me or pulling at my leg. I misspell words and I might forget a step or 2. Who cares though right? But I needed a dang break. I’ve been majorly wore out. So anyways…all is good! I’m cooking again. And I desperately need to hit the gym because my last couple months of fun have also been causing severe damage to my back side. The several posts will be “healthy” recipes no doubt but they will be goooood.

Well…this pasta…it’s an oldie but a goodie and one of the first few things that I ever made for my husband. It’s DELICIOUS!! I saw Rachel Ray make it years ago and I knew it would be good because of my love for lemons and pasta. It’s a lighter dish too. (Well, kinda light.) It’s like chicken piccata in a bowl with cheesy pasta! It’s one of my go-to’s because it’s easy and everyone loves it. Unless you’re my mother who thinks lemon and pasta don’t go together. She also thinks chicken and pasta together is a sin. (But she’s weird with food.) There is a little bit of prep work involved but not too much. I like to do the wash and chop the chicken earlier in the day so it’s ready. I’ve altered it a little bit because I found it to be a bit too dry. So I use less noodles than the recipe calls for.

Enjoy!

Start with 1 1/3 pound of chicken breast chopped into 1 inch chunks. I like smaller pieces of chicken so chop it however you like. Heat a deep non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil and add the chicken.

When chicken is cooked though and golden brown, remove and cover with foil.

Chop 4 cloves of garlic. Squeeze one whole lemon and set aside. In a measuring cup measure 1/2 cup of white wine and in another 1 cup of chicken stock. Chop 1/2 cup of flat leaf parsley. Lastly, set aside 2 TBS of flour and 1 1/2 TBS of butter.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the penne. Once boiling, add about 3/4lb. of pasta to the water. I do just a little less than one pound so it’s not as dry. DON’T FORGET TO SALT THE WATER.

(Use the same skillet as the chicken). Heat the remaining 1 TBS of Olive Oil and 1 TBS butter over medium low heat.

Add the garlic cloves and cook until just lightly golden. DON’T OVERCOOK! As soon as you start to see it become translucent and LIGHTLY brown, add in the 2 TBS of flour. Whisk, Whisk! Let it cook for a minute and then add 1/2 cup of white wine. Whisk again until incorporated and reduced (about 1 minute.)

Next whisk in lemon juice and chicken broth.

Stir in parsley. (Recipe calls for capers but I don’t use them because my boys don’t like. When you stir in the parsley you can also add in 3 TBS capers!) Raise heat to medium/medium high. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add in remaining 1/2 TBS of butter. Then add the chicken back to the pan and heat. Sauce will thicken up in a about 2-3 minutes.

Strain the penne and mix very well into the sauce.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped (I don’t use shallots, but do if your fam likes onions!)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chicken broth or stock
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3/4 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish

Directions

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray