Chicken piccata is a favorite in our house. It has been a longtime favorite meal of mine and Beast made it for me the night we got home after having Ladybug. Our kids started really enjoying it when they were 4 and 5 and it is often requested when I am meal planning. Normally chicken piccata is chicken, noodles, and sauce without much in the way of vegetables. When they started eating it more frequently, I felt the need to try to sneak some additional veggies in. Also, we are a caper-loving family. It has taken me a bit of time to get this recipe ready to share because I kept being told “more capers.” I drew the line at one whole jar but I know Bear would edit this to include two jars if he had his way! So this recipe is just a little bit extra in a variety of ways. You simmer the sauce for quite a while to get it just right but it is well worth the time for this yummy Sunday Supper!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 to 1 whole bag egg noodles (12 to 16 oz)
• Olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley
• Loaf of crusty bread

For the chicken:

• 1 package chicken breast tenders or chicken breast cut into strips
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika

Sauce:

• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 Tbsp or 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 3.5 oz jar (or less) capers
• 1 shallot
• 2 lemons (for zest and juice) or 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch

Optional add-ins:

• Spiralized zucchini as another type of noodle
• Sliced mushrooms
• Jar of artichoke hearts
• Handful or two of fresh spinach

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Open bottle of white wine and pour a glass to enjoy while cooking.
3. Put the Just Good Music mix on Spotify.
4. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
5. “Paint” mayo on each side of chicken tenders with silicone brush.
6. On a plate or shallow dish, mix panko, parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
7. Press each mayo-coated chicken tender one at a time into the panko mixture to coat with breading on both sides.
8. Place breaded chicken tenders on greased cookie sheet and set aside.
9. If using mushrooms, cook mushrooms in a large saute pan on medium high heat with additional butter in small batches. Then remove from pan. Brown on each side. Flip once browned, do not stir.
10. If using zucchini, spiralize in your favorite noodle size and place in colander in the sink. Will cook with pasta water later.
11. Put a large pot of water on to boil for pasta (per package instructions).
12. Heat olive oil in large saute pan on medium heat.
13. Thinly slice shallot and add to hot pan.
14. Saute shallot until translucent.
15. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds (until fragrant).
16. Add wine and cook until reduced by half (~5 minutes).
17. While reducing, zest and juice lemons.
18. Add stock, lemon juice, and lemon zest to saute pan.
19. Put chicken in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
20. Add capers (and mushrooms and/or artichokes if using) to saute pan and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.
21. While sauce is simmering, cook egg noodles according to package directly.
22. Pour boiling water with noodles through colander with spiralized zucchini (if using). This lightly cooks the zucchini and makes sure the “zoodles” still have a good texture.
23. Turn off heat on saute pan.
24. Stir in spinach, if using.
25. Stir in butter.
26. Mix cornstarch with water until well combined.
27. Stir cornstarch mixture into sauce.
28. Mix 3/4 of sauce and cooked noodles in large serving dish.
29. Top noodle/sauce mixture with cooked chicken tenders.
30. Pour remaining sauce on top.
31. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.
32. Serve warm with crusty bread for dipping.

This is one of those meals where I find myself watching my children eat in complete awe. How can they possibly have another serving? They have each eaten more than Beast and I combined!

I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine!

Happy cooking!