Cooking Light with Rachael Ray: Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

This recipe comes from Rachel Ray's 30-Minute Meals segment; so automatically it got my attention. I am confident that all of you can relate to being in a time crunch pretty much ALL of the time. Still, I have said it before and I will say it again, that doesn't mean we can't make a delicious and nutritious meal for ourselves and/or our families. Proof in point, I give you a lightened version of Rachael's Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss.

CHICKEN PICCATA PASTA TOSS

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1  tablespoon "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" 
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup LOW SODIUM/FAT FREE chicken broth 
3 tablespoons capers, drained (or 5 tbsp if you LOVE capers like my hubby & I do : ) )
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound WHOLE GRAIN penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish
FAT FREE Olive Oil Cooking Spray




DIRECTIONS:


Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Coat with olive oil cooking spray and add the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon "ICBINB", the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

RESULTS:

My husband, Rudy, makes a killer Chicken Piccata. He tailored his recipe off of my Mom's even more impressive Chicken Piccata dish. Needless to say, the pressure was on to perform with this one! Well, with Rachael's simple instructions and my subtle yet substantive modifications, I had no problem making this dish a success. The other fun thing about this recipe is that it calls for wine; which makes me feel like some kind of gourmet chef when I pour it into the pan. You gotta love that!

I think you will really enjoy this dish. Not only is it quick, healthy and delicious...it is affordable too. For less than $15, you can have this filling meal for up to 6 people. Not bad!

ENJOY!

NUTRITION FACTS (per serving): 425.33 calories;  6.93g fat;  59.58g carbohydrate;  30.89g protein;  10.47g fiber