Chicken Picata by The Ranch Kitchen

Happy Memorial Day everyone!  Today is bittersweet for me! My middle daughter is graduating from high school!  We are very, very proud of the young woman she has become, with good moral values, determination, and example she has become for her younger sister!  She is off to college at our favorite university Texas A&M.  Gig'em!  We love you Bethany!  I thank God for his many blessings. 

As I thought about today what recipe to share with you over the Memorial Day weekend!  A friend the other day asked if I had a good Chicken Picatta recipe....and I just did.  I love Chicken Picatta especially from The Cheesecake Factory or Grand Lux Cafe in Las Vegas, Dallas, and/or Houston!  This is my rendition of it and I hope you like it.  A special thanks to Campbell's soups for taking a ton of work out of this recipe!  The can is my friend!

Chicken Picata by The Ranch Kitchen

4 – 6 chicken breast – seasoned with salt and pepper - can be slightly pounded flat if you like

1 onion sliced thin - optional

juice of one to two lemons, depending on size and your preference

1 can cream of chicken soup – not light version

1 can cream of celery soup – not light version

½ to 1 cup water to thin soups

½ cup capers with 2 tablespoons brine/juice

2 tablespoons of Canola Oil or Grapeseed Oil

1/8 tsp. (not much) garlic salt, salt and pepper to season

Brown your chicken in a non-stick skillet with some canola oil – 2 tablespoons.  When almost done, add your onions and saute until slightly opaque.  Add soups, lemon juice, water, 1/8 tsp. garlic salt and more pepper if needed – you can use white pepper if you don’t like the black pepper.  Cook until chicken juices run clear and there is no longer a pink middle.  Taste and see if you need more lemon juice, caper juice/brine or seasonings.  You can also slice lemons in a thin circle to serve on top. I serve this over Angel Hair pasta.  This is the closest I have come to replicating The Cheesecake Factories/Grand Lux Café (owned by same company) in Dallas at the Galleria and in Houston.

***As you celebrate this Memorial Day in our U.S.A. remember those who fought for our freedoms.  I thank my grandfather Herbert Young who's service to our country was in the Pacific Theatre in World War II.