Smile (Lemon Chicken Pasta)

Nothing guarantees a smile outta me like a text or email from our son, Will who has been attending college in Helena, Montana for the past three years. Anyone who has had a child go off to college knows the feeling. You devote 18 years of your life getting them ready to leave the nest. And then they do. Thank goodness for the Internet.

I got one of those emails the other day while we were driving cross-country. He was cooking dinner for a friend and wanted to know if I had any ideas. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree and Will knows his way around the kitchen, which is a good thing when you are an athlete.

So I tapped out my response – a lemon chicken pasta that I felt was sure to please. Turns out, he fixed something else (which is totally OK, and I want the recipe for the salad he made!). But tonight, after unpacking boxes for 9 hours I found myself walking down to Weaver Street Market to pick up the fixin’s.

And when Steve walked in the door after spending 9 hours of supervising (and helping) our moving crew as they transferred our all our worldly possessions into storage, I saw a smile on his face, too.

Here it is… give it a try… and hope you smile as well.

Lemon Chicken Pasta

(Serves 2 - usually with leftovers for lunch the next day. Scales well to serve 4 or 6)

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 Tbs flour
• 1 1/2 to 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil or butter (enough to coat the pan)
• ½ medium sized onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 3 large or 6 small mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tbs fresh thyme
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 Tbs capers, drained
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• ½ box penne pasta, cooked
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

Method

• Put a large pot of water on to boil, season with salt
• Add pasta, cook until al dente (about 8 minutes) then drain. Set aside.

While the pasta is boiling:

• Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then toss with the flour
• Melt the butter or warm the olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium/high heat.
• Brown the chicken, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• Add the onion to the pan. Cook until soft.
• Lower the heat… Add the mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Cook another 5 – 7 minutes, or until soft.
• Add the chicken back into the pan.
• Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits.
• Add the capers
• Now add the drained pasta

At this point you can turn the heat off and cover to keep warm.

• When you are ready to serve, heat the mixture up, add the lemon zest and juice. Continue heating until everything is warmed through.
• A bit of fresh parsley and Parmesan is a nice garnish.

Enjoy!