Chicken Piccata

So Jill sent me a recipe for chicken a long time ago... Well when PC and I went to the store the other night, I couldn't remember everything that was in the chicken recipe but told him we needed to try it.  So one day this week I emailed Jill to see what all went into the recipe.  Dang, I didn't have everything at the house... and last night I was way to lazy to go to the store, so I ran across a different recipe for Chicken Piccata Pasta.  I did a quick search (more so in my head at work yesterday) of the ingredients in the dish vs what we had at the house...

Chicken (1 1/2 lbs).... Check
Olive Oil (2tbsp).... Extra Virgin, check
Lemon Pepper Rub(1 1/2 tbsp).... My husband is the spice king, I think so, check
Chicken Broth (3 cans or 6 cups).... Check
Onion (1/2 medium).... Check
Pasta (12 oz).... check
 Lemon (1)... Nope but shhh we'll pretend I didn't see that one
Cream Cheese (2 oz).... Check
Artichoke Hearts (1 can).... nope, but oh well who needs those, right?
Capers (1/4 cup).... Nope, maybe next time :)
Parsley & Parmesan cheese (garnish)... both optional but I think we have both.

So if you notice, we didn't have the lemon, artichoke hearts and capers.  PC didn't want the artichoke hearts, and it wasn't worth it to stop at the store for lemon and capers... so I'll just wing it :) So I went into the kitchen and washed the chicken... don't know why, it's something my mom always did and so that's what I do... blame it on the up-bringing!

Step 1: Now cut the chicken into bite size pieces.  I can do that! Combine chicken, 1 tbsp of oil and rub in mixing bowl, toss to coat.... Crap missed that step... ok so I'll just season the chicken up in the pan... After digging through the entire spice cabinet and referring to our spice list... I realized NO Lemon Pepper... Crap crap crap.... Dang it that was in my mom's spice cabinet... ok now what... oh at the bottom it said

Cook's Tip: to substitute lemon pepper rub in step 1, toss chicken with 1 tsp salt and course ground black pepper. Ok so I salted it and put a ton of black pepper on it.  Then went digging through the cabinet and found Garlic Pepper seasoning... hmmm we'll try that too, why not?

Once the chicken was cooked.... OMG it was to die for!!!  Score for me!

I had my cooking partner in the kitchen with me.  Most times she was sacked out on the floor but every time I went to take her picture she woke up...

Ever since she was a puppy she's laid in the kitchen with us while we're cooking.  She's going to be a great Dog Chef one of these days... she knows all the ins and outs ;)

Step 2: Pour broth in a Large microwave bowl, covered and microwave on high 8-10 minutes or until boiling. Dice up the onion and add onion to a skillet, cook 10-20 minutes (oh no wait seconds... don't make that mistake... no I didn't I just typed it wrong and left it :)) or until the onion is fragrant.  Carefully pour broth and add pasta; cook uncovered for 7-8 minutes or until tender, stir occasionally. Oh heck why dirty up a second bowl... the broth can come to a boil in the skillet :)  When I added the onion I added some garlic too... heck why not warn off the vampires tonight! So I went to put the broth in the skillet... dang it's not a big enough pan... I put in 5 of the 6 cups... eh, it works :)

Crud I added the pasta before I brought the broth to a boil... that's probably why they say to microwave it to a boil.... oh well... patience Nicole! Patience.

Step 3: Zest lemon to measure 1 tbsp zest.  Juice lemon to measure 2 tbsp.  Add zest, juice and cream cheese to skillt; stir until cream cheese is fully incorporated.  Add chicken, artichokes to skillet.  Cook covered 1-2 mins or until heated through.  Remove from heat and add capers.  Garnish with parsley & Parmesan cheese. No lemon so no zest or juice... oh well... moving on.  Add cream cheese... yum!  That right there made it to die for!  Add chicken and artichokes... no artichokes so I say forget covering it to heat!  No capers either and we completely forgot about the parsley & Parmesan cheese. We snacked on this the whole process of making it.  It was delicious!

Then I almost forgot to take a photo of the finished product.  In fact this is after PC and I both had our helpings.

Very seldom do I deviate from a recipe the first time like this... I at least make it once so I know what it's supposed to taste like then I start making changes.  Last night I didn't have much choice and boy am I glad I did it my way.  I now wonder what it tastes like with all the lemon... I may have to remake this.  And I've never actually tried a caper... I just might have to invest :) This is averaged at $2/serving... that's not bad!  It came from a Pampered Chef cookbook I recently purchased!  I'm sold!!!  But that $2 is if you follow specific directions...  I'll bet mine was cheaper...