Foodie Friday -- Lemon Chicken

As I posted on Facebook earlier this week, I made this lemon chicken recipe -- Cuisine magazine's name--Light Chicken Francese, but I knew the title would get lost in the "what the heck is this? file" so I went with the more traditional name-- that was wonderful! I ate my lemon chicken on a bed of spinach, while my hubby and kiddo enjoyed their chicken on a bed of angel hair pasta.

See? There are ways of cutting calories without cutting flavor AND getting in a serving or two of raw veggies!

This recipe is from Cuisine magazine. My sis-in-law very generously gave me a subscription for Christmas. This magazine is awesome in the fact that it doesn't have advertising. I hate flipping through a magazine looking for recipes only to discover 60-75% of the magazine is in the form of ads. This was why I stopped taking Martha Stewart years ago--it was before she even went to jail!

Back to the recipe, sometimes chicken can be a little boring, but add a little lemon and everything brightens up!

Lemon Chicken

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, pounded flat to 1/4 -inch thick, fat removed, 5-6 ounces each
1/2 cup flour, combined with 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper
2 egg whites whisked with Tbls. skim milk
4 tsp. olive oil, divided

Sauce: 
1 Tbls. olive oil
2 shallots, minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbls. parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lemon, thinly sliced, optional

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Chicken: Dredge pounded chicken in flour mixture, shake off excess. Evenly coat cutlet in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Dredge cutlets again in flour mixture.

Heat 2 tsp. oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-heat. Cook half of the cutlets (2) until golden on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer cooked chicken onto baking sheet to keep warm in the oven; repeat with remaining 2 tsp. oil and cutlets.

Sauce: In same skillet heat 1 Tbls oil over medium, add shallots and cook until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add 1 Tbls. flour and cook 1 minute.
Whisk in broth, wine, and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-high and bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium and cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture reduces slightly and thickens.
Add butter to skillet, whisk to melt. Add 1 Tbls. parsley and season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper; add lemon slices to coat with sauce. Serve cutlets with sauce and lemon slices; garnish with chopped parsley.

Serve with angel hair pasta or spinach for a healthier alternative.

Tips &Tricks:

• If you've never made a recipe before and you're worried about how quickly everything will move along, then do what the cooks on the TV shows do--pre-measure, pre-chop, pre-everything! Have everything ready to toss into the pan. Yeah, you'll have lots of little dishes to wash, but it's easier than freaking out at the last minute because it's cooking too quickly for you. 
• Pound your chicken inside a resealable gallon freezer bag. Less mess. 
• I used shallots instead of 1/4 cup minced onion, as I didn't want a cut onion stinking up my fridge. The shallot is milder, plus it was easier to mince into tiny pieces
• I didn't want to open a bottle of white wine, so I used more chicken broth. 
• Lemons vary with the amounts of juice they give. It took one lemon to get 1/4 cup of juice. Sometimes it's more, sometimes less. 
• I don't buy chicken broth, or use bouillon cubes, I use Better than Bouillon chicken base, which must be refrigerated after opening. It lasts a long time, and all you need is hot water to reconstitute it. 
• I used dried parsley. It had been freeze-dried, which helped it keep its beautiful dark green color and flavor. 
• I used two pans for dredging chicken: one pan for the flour mixture, and one for the egg mixture. Use tongs to transfer chicken back and forth . . . the tongs get gummy, but not your fingers. 
• When the first side of the chicken cooked, I sprayed the floured, uncooked side with olive oil spray. 
• When you cook the chicken in two batches, place the first batch in the oven to keep warm while cooking the rest of the chicken and making the sauce. Place your dinner plates in there, too, to get them nice and warm. This way you aren't plating hot food on a cold plate, and your meal stays warmer longer. 

That's it for now. Enjoy!

Later, Peeps!