Chicken Salad Piccata

This was my dinner.


According to Rachael Ray's Everyday magazine this Chicken Salad Piccata was only supposed to cost $9 to make, bringing it to just $2.25 per serving!

Yeah... it didn't work out that way. And no, I did not waste money on the premium version of version of the ingredients (like I so stupidly do). As a matter of fact, I got everything from Giant. I just think the ingredient cost break down is stupid.

The magazine spent $1.99 for 1.5lb of baby red potatoes. It cost me... $6. Okay, now that I think about it, $6 for 1.5 potato is really stupid. Next time I'll just buy the big red potatoes and cut them up really small. Oh, and I'm not sure how much I spent on green beans but I know it wasn't 99 cents for half a pound. The "fresh" green beans would have been cheaper but they looked pretty rank so I bought the bagged kind. Next time, I think I'll go with frozen.

Okay, so I guess it has the potential to be under $10... But, I still say it's misleading.

Chicken Salad Piccata
Serves: 4

1.5 lbs small red potatoes, quartered
1/2 lb green beans, halved crosswise
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped capers
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon (Screw that! I say use the whole lemon! It'll taste better, trust me!)
1 large egg
1/4 cup flour
Two 6-oz skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, lightly pounded
1/4 cup chicken broth

In a large saucepan, add the potatoes and enough salted water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a colander. (Me, personally, I'm not a big fan of boiling potatoes. Instead, I sprinkles with salt and broiled them in the oven... So good! I recommend broiling.) Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Drain in the colander with the potatoes; let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon capers, 3 tablespoons parsley, the lemon peel and half of the lemon juice. Add the potatoes and beans and toss; season with salt and pepper.

In a shallow bowl, beat the egg. In another shallow bowl, season the flour with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Coat the chicken breasts with the seasoned flour, then dip in the egg, allowing any excess to drip off, and coat with the flour again, shaking off the excess. Add to the skillet and cook, turning once, until golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into strips.

Add the chicken broth to the skillet; cook over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon capers, 1 tablespoon parsley and lemon juice. Top the salad with the chicken and drizzle with the pan sauce.