Chicken Picatta

Hello everyone! I'm sorry its been so long since my last post this month has just flown by. I noticed I have two new followers thank you and welcome. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. I have been busy teaching vacation bible school and my husband and I have a sailboat so we have been hitting the water as much as possible!!
I was watching Barefoot Contessa one day and she made this recipe and it looked so quick and easy I thought I would give it a try. Well, I was in such a hurry at the grocery store I accidentally picked up chicken strips instead of chicken breasts. By the way if you haven't purchased chicken that is already trimmed and pounded...BUY IT!! It saves me time although I always found pounding chicken somewhat therapeutic...well I have rambled enough. Everyone have a nice week !
Ingredients
2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Coconut Curried Chicken

I just love when my husband finds a recipe he wants us to try. I was really surprised when he picked this one because he is a picky eater and this recipe calls for curry and coconut milk. You will have half a can of coconut milk left over so I used it for in my rice...yummy.

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

(3 or 4 breasts), cut into bite-size pieces

2 Tbs. curry powder (I only used 1, not a big fan of curry)

1/2 cup canned light coconut milk

1 Tbs. canned tomato paste

2 tsp. vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp chopped fresh ginger

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

In a 2 qt, microwavable dish, stir the chicken with the oil until it's good and greasy. Stir in the curry powder, garlic, onion, ginger and cayenne pepper. Nuke for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until the spices are fragrant and the chicken is almost cooked through. Move the chicken to the sides of the dish and mix the coconut milk and tomato paste in the middle. Mix thoroughly with the chicken and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Heat for 10 to 12 minutes , stirring a few times. Stir in salt and serve . Makes 4 servings

serve over rice to soak up the sauce and top with 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro.

adapted from men's health magazine , may 2005 A man, a can, a microwave.

Asian Chicken & Noodle Skillet

This was the easiest dinner ever!!! If you are short on time this is a quick skillet dish. Although the look on my husbands face was priceless....he asked me why he was getting ramen noodles for dinner? I told him that these were special ramen noodles and I had "dressed" them up. He wasn't impressed but it sure was tasty!

2 medium carrots, julienne strips

1 medium red bell pepper, cut lengthwise or chopped

5-6 green onions with tops, divided

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

2 T. toasted sesame oil

2 T. Asian Seasoning Mix (I used pampered chef)

4 pkg. (3oz. each) oriental-flavor ramen noodles

1 T. vegetable oil

4 cups of water

• Cut carrots into julienne strips, cut bell pepper lengthwise into 1/3 in. strips ( I chopped mine because I wasn't paying attention). Slice green onions; set aside tops for garnish.
• Thinly slice chicken breast. Combine chicken breast, sesame oil, seasoning mix, and two of the ramen seasoning packets ( I used one so it would not be over powering) in bowl; mix well.
• Add vegetable oil to (12 in) skillet; heat over medium high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add chicken and cook; remove from skillet and keep warm.
• Add carrots and bell pepper to skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add water and remaining ramen seasoning packets ( I omitted this step); stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add ramen noodles and white parts of green onions to skillet.
• Cover; bring to a boil and cook 4-5 minutes or until noodles are softened. Add chicken; stir to break apart noodles. Remove skillet from heat; let stand, covered, 3-4 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Garnish with reserved green onion tops.

This recipe was adapted from Season's Best recipe collection Pampered chef spring/summer 2009 p.13. You can substitute the chicken for 2 pork tenderloins about 1 pound each. I cut the recipe in half there fore I only used one packet of ramen noodle seasoning mix. I didn't want it to taste salty.