$5 Dinner: Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata for under $5 per serving?  Yeah… seriously.

The Chicken Piccata itself is $1.79 per serving.  With alfredo pasta, green beans, and a roll, this entire meal is still only $2.60 per serving.  For about $.75 more, you could add a salad too (a bag of salad mix and a bottle of dressing — no extra veggies or croutons).  Obviously you couldn’t do it this cheap with chicken regularly priced at $6.49/lb as it is here, but the whole point of this exercise is to show you just how cheap you can feed the family if you take the time to cook what’s on sale and avoid the non-sale stuff.

This recipe serves 6 because we take leftovers for lunch at work, but you can easily scale this down to 4.  Prices are for the entire quantity used in the recipe.

• 3 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half ($2.98) $1.69/lb super sale!!
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter ($.70)  I bought this box on sale for $2.50
• 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ($1.27)   $11.99/bottle regular price
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice ($1.29)
• 1 cup chicken stock (FREE)     I made it the last time I cooked chicken and froze it
• 3oz jar brined capers, rinsed ($1.49)
• 2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped ($1.99)
• 4oz can sliced mushrooms ($.99)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter with 4 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 3 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 3 more tablespoons butter and add another 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 3 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock, mushrooms and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Side Dishes:

• 1/2 box pasta ($.50)    On sale 10/$10
• 1 jar alfredo sauce ($1.50)    On sale 2/$3
• 2 cans green beans ($1.98)
• 6 brown and serve rolls ($.89)

Note: No, I didn’t even try to figure up the costs for the flour, salt and pepper.  The quantities used are so small that it would probably be $.05 or less for the entire recipe.

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