fork lickin' chicken!

i bought the biggest bag of chicken you've EVER seen from costco, and as a result, we've been eating a lot of chicken! i tried out several new recipes and these are the two we've really enjoyed so far. they're both from cooking light although i added a little more butter to the first one so it's not quite as light ;)

Chicken Piccata with Capers
Nate and Sarah actually had this in Venice last week and it was so good I wanted to try it at home. It was really close! This was our definite favorite of the two recipes.

I only made 2 chicken breasts but we still used all the sauce (poured it over top the chicken and a pile of angel hair), so keep that in mind!

Ingredients

* 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
* 1-2 tablespoons butter (I added a tablespoon of butter to the sauce at the end)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons capers
* 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (about 8 ounces uncooked)
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place each breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Place flour in a shallow dish, and dredge chicken in flour.

Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add white wine, 1/4 cup lemon juice, capers, and garlic to pan; scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for 2 minutes or until slightly thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. (Whisk in another tablespoon of butter) Serve chicken over pasta. Top with sauce; sprinkle with parsley.

Here's my satisfied customer :)


Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa
Of course, this one has cilantro so it was an immediate favorite of mine :) The recipe only called for the cilantro in the marinade, but I also put it in the salsa for the top of the chicken. Also, we had it with saffron rice, but turns out I don't really like saffron rice! Next time I will try it with black beans and rice.

Ingredients

Chicken:
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
* 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* Cooking spray

Salsa:
* 1 cup chopped plum tomato (about 2)
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
* 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 avocado, peeled and finely chopped

Directions

1. To prepare chicken, combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss and let stand 3 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done.

2. To prepare salsa, combine tomato and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a medium bowl. Add avocado (and cilantro!); stir gently to combine. Serve salsa over chicken.