Parmesan Chicken Piccata

Parmesan Chicken is one of those easy dishes that only seems complicated. I love it when not much work translates into great results and happy bellies. It's great with a simple side of pasta with marinara, but only a few ingredients transforms the dish into Parmesan Chicken Piccata.


You need to have everything prepped in advance, then it all comes together quickly. Here we have beaten eggs and parmesan in separate dishes for dredging the chicken, which will be pounded to about 1/4 inch thickness. Angel hair will be cooked separately, then tossed in the sauce, which consists of chicken broth, lemon slices, lemon juice, capers, and parsley. I tossed a couple of handfuls of tomatoes in to make it a one dish meal for me and the kids, and 'meat and salad' for my no-pasta eating hubby.


I like to pound meat in a gallon ziplock bag. Especially with chicken, it's nice to avoid getting eensy droplets of germy juiciness all over the place, since I never know when a toddler may decide he needs to crawl up onto the counter to steal a sip of my soda, like he did last night.

Cook the pasta al dente, reserve a half cup or so of the liquid, then drain the pasta and set aside for later. I like to toss the noodles with a little olive oil so it doesn't clump together later.


After pounding thin, salt and pepper the meat, and dip each piece first in egg, then parmesan to coat. Heat 2 T olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the chicken until deeply golden. Since chicken breasts can pound out to be really large, I cut some of them in halves before dredging to make them a fit in the pan more easily and had to work in batches.

Remove the chicken and set aside, covered in foil.


Add one more tablespoon olive oil to the pan, and saute the lemon slices, capers, parsely, and some chopped garlic. If like me, you realize your garlic has gone to the dark side, substitute garlic powder and update your grocery list. :)

After a couple of minutes add 1/2 cup chicken stock, or if you have it, 1/2 c white wine. Let it cook down and then add 1/2 chicken stock. Stir for one minute, then add the juice of one lemon and a tablespoon of butter, just to melt it. Here I added the tomatoes, since I wanted them to still have some 'snap' to them.




Add that pasta water you reserved, and then toss in the pasta to coat.


Mangia! Personally I think the lemons are not to be eaten. I tried it once, and it's YIKCY. But they do add flavor to the dish, and look pretty. :)

Getting Started

As I read through our previous posts, I am left thinking about those who aspire to decorate, but when they look in those glossy mags and see these bountiful tables spreads and gorgeous candle displays, they are left thinking, "Yeah, right. When will I have time to do this, and how much will of this cost?" So here are a few tips to those just trying to do a little bit of decorating without breaking the bank.

As with a wardrobe, start off with your basics. In decorating, I consider basics to be candles, candleholders and vases. To capture the vibe of the season, go to Michael's and get a scented candle that fits your idea of what the season means to you. Their candles are great, and they are cheap. Yes, they are made in China, but so are the majority of candles sold in the US. For candleholders, I prefer simple glass bases, to start. Once you have the basics, you can build onto that. Also, if you go into the wreath decorating section of Michael's, they have little add-ons that you can use to decorate candles. Have fun! 

When you are on your weekly stop to Target, stop the Dollar Spot! I can often find items that will fit in perfectly for the season, and only cost $1-$2.50. Just this past week I found a great cornucopia to place on the table for Thanksgiving. Cost: $1.00. It doesn't have to cost a lot to look good.

As I said before, decorating doesn't have to mean spending a ton of money. It just means taking your time to build a repertoire, and to do that, you have to start off with the basics!

  

Simple Holiday Tabletop

With small kids underfoot and into everything, decorating for holidays can be challenging. I think for Halloween, it can be doubly so. You have to keep things reasonably safe and out of reach, while also being fun and NOT scary. Age 6, 3, or 0, no one needs images of the grim reaper creeping into their subconscious. Plus, this is a home, not the Haunted Mansion.

Thankfully it's easy to go the 'happy/silly' path with Halloween, so here we stick to the more cheerful ideas. For a few practical reasons, I choose to contain the decorating mainly to the 'landing strip/launch pad' area by the front door and the front steps.



Decorating festively does not have to be an outrageous expense. I have been slowly collecting items I love for the past 5 or 6 years, one or two things per year.


Here we have two votive holders, which I collected in pairs. The 'mummy head' pillars were $2 or so each from Big Lots and the only pieces I brought into our home last year. Our kids and their friends love 'em! Ditto for the spiders, which probably were $2-3 each from World Market.


Add in a few vintage cards given by friends over time, and a happy painted tin pumpkin that was part of a party favor, and we have a happy little nook that celebrates the holiday in a rather understated way.