Chicken Picata with Mushrooms and Spinach – Bumpkin

I took out chicken a few days ago with every intention of cooking up a storm.  But, speaking of storms, the weather had another idea.  Winds got up to 70mph here and knocked out our power.  Since we didn’t know how long it would be out we opted to just go into town for dinner.

Fast forward to today.  So, here I am husbandless for the weekend (he is turkey hunting….the result of which will probably a 2-day beard, a bit of sunburn and a headache!) and not REALLY in the mood to cook but I have chicken about to spoil.  I also have meyer lemons, mushrooms and spinach about to spoil.  Sounds like picata time.

I found a quick recipe on allrecipes.com.  It, naturally, needed modifications because WHAT is picata without capers! The kids were watching Tom and Jerry, I whipped up dinner.  They all sat down and STARED!  I HATE going to any sort of effort just to have kids NOT eat.  Push the spinach aside kids….just eat your damn dinner!

After a few bites, spinach and capers picked out.  Dinner was done.  I think it was perfectly delicious.  Hubby will like it (not as much as his mom’s but…)  I will probably make it again because I typically have all the ingredients at any given time. I served it with spaghetti into which I juiced 1 lemon, added a dash of olive oil and grated some fresh parmesan cheese.

Chicken Picata with Mushrooms and Spinach

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1T chopped garlic
• 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs – cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• bunch of spinach
• 2T capers

Let’s make It

1. In a shallow bowl, mix together flour, paprika, and salt and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in the seasoned flour.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add garlic and saute chicken until light golden brown (about 45 seconds each side). Remove chicken from skillet, and set aside.
3. To skillet, add mushrooms, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Simmer until a smooth, light sauce develops. Season with garlic powder. Return chicken to the skillet, and simmer until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Stir in spinach and capers, and remove from heat.