Chicken Piccata W/ Greek Yogurt Cream Sauce

 

Lemon and chicken go well together, 

but what makes it even better is whole wheat pasta and a creamy sauce. 

I put this dish together in a short amount of time and it turned out wonderful. My husband even stopped before he left the room--well after his second bowl--to tell me he "really liked the dish"; and thus it is going on the blog. 

This is a multi-tasking meal prep dinner. There is no lag time. But everything is timed pretty well and ends warm and ready to be eaten. 
So put on your apron and cook away!

Adapted from Lifeasalofthouse and plainchicken.com
Ingredients:

Chicken
2 Large chicken breast or 4 small (I seriously had GIANT chicken breasts so I used 2 and cut them in half)
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (plain works just add oregano, basil, salt pepper, rosemary, and thyme)
1 tbs butter (I used parkay)
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Pasta
2 cups whole wheat penne pasta + 3 1/2 cups water to boil (This is more than enough for 2 people--adjust amount based on amount feeding)
*OPTIONAL 1 quarter of a chicken bouillon cube (just kicks it up a notch)

Creamy Cheesy Sauce
2 tbs butter (I used parkay)
6 tbs lemon juice (the juice from 2 lemons or just the stuff from the bottle)
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt/ pepper/ basil, to taste
1/2 cup Plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese ( I cheated here, I only had the powdered stuff that comes in the bottle and used a little more than half a cup. STILL TURNED OUT AWESOME!)


Directions:

Whisk egg in a shallow bowl
Place bread crumbs in separate shallow bowl
Heat Large on Medium skillet with 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil
Pound breasts into a fillet using your fist or a meat mallet. Approx 2 inches thick
Pat dry and then  dip in egg mixture and then bread crumbs. 
Place in skillet and cook for 4-5 min each side. NO TURNING.
-- you are welcome to cut your chicken breast in half once this time is up to make sure they are cook through (they really should be) but if not just leave  them in the pan, cover with a lid, turn the heat down, and let them "cook" while your continue the rest of the meal--

While breasts are cooking....make pasta

Bring a small sauce pan with 3 1/2 cups water to boil, add quartered bouillon cube and then pasta. 
Boil for 7 min, or al dente.

While pasta is boiling.... start sauce

Mince garlic and place in a bowl with 6 tbs lemon juice.
Measure out 1/2 cup greek yogurt set aside. 

Chicken should be done  now...turn pan to low, with lid, to keep warm or place on plate and cover with foil.

Once pasta is done, set aside 1/2 cup pasta water and then drain the rest. 

Dump pasta in a small bowl with a drizzle of olive oil to keep from sticking and cover to keep warm 

SAUCE TIME: 
In the same sauce pan that you made the pasta melt 2 tbs butter on medium high heat. 
Whisk in minced garlic and lemon juice and then add greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and basil to taste. Whisk until warm. 
Add cheese and stir until melted.--if you see your sauce thickening too much add some of the reserve water to loosen it.

ALL DONE!

Toss pasta with sauce and top with sliced chicken.

ENJOY!!!!