Easy, Fast, Weeknight Elegance- Chicken Piccata!

Looking for something that can be whipped up rapidly for dinner? Something that's so quick and delicious that you won't believe it's from your kitchen and not from a restaurant?

Then say hello to the fabulousness that is chicken piccata!

This dish is so incredibly easy to make that anyone can make it. And, it's fast! Makes a terrific week night meal for those that are super busy and don't want to spend another night eating out.

Process:
Zest and juice two lemons
Measure out ~ 1/3 cup of white wine (I used Chardonnay because that's what I had open)
~ 1/4 cup chicken stock
~ 1 lb of thin sliced chicken (NOTE: can use regular boneless skinless chicken breasts, will just need to pound them to be very thin)
~ 2 ounces of capers
~ 2/3 cup of AP flour
Salt, pepper, Goya Complete Seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder (NOTE: The seasoning mix is totally up to you. You can just use salt and pepper if you want or choose to use salt and pepper directly on the chicken before you dredge in flour)
Butter and avocado oil to cook the chicken

Get everything together before you start!
The technical term for this is "mis en place" or, everything in it's place. What this means: thinking through everything that you need to make the dish and assembling it BEFORE you start making it. This seemingly basic idea is something that profoundly changed the entire cooking experience for me. It's incredibly frustrating to be cooking and suddenly realize that you don't have what you need just when it's needed. Avoid the stress entirely by making sure everything is ready before you start.

Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour
Knock off excess flour
Heat pan to medium-high heat
Add butter and avocado oil and coat the entire pan
Cook chicken ~ 2 minutes a side (cooking times depend on the thickness of the chicken...need more time for thicker pieces)
Once chicken is cooked nearly through (don't want a lot of browning), remove it from the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine.
NOTE: adding alcohol to a hot pan can cause the alcohol to ignite, so please be careful!
Mix well. You want all the bits that were left in the pan after cooking the chicken to get into the cooking liquid. Those bits are called, "fond" and are packed with flavor! They are the keys to making great tasting sauces.
Add the chicken stock, lemon juice and zest, and the capers. Mix well. Heat until bubbling. Need the liquid to be bubbling to help make the sauce velvety. Add the cooked chicken back to the pan and coat with bubbling sauce. That liquid needs to be bubbling hot for the cooked flour that's on the outside of the chicken to thicken the sauce.
Coat all the pieces of chicken and heat through.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve chicken and sauce over pasta (for those enjoying carbs) or a freshly steamed vegetable if you are watching carbs/calories.

Chicken piccata is a super basic, very delicious, and fast enough dinner to be able to enjoy after a busy work day. Give it a shot and tell me what you think!