Day 2: Chicken With Capers and Green Beans

Courtesy of: Better Homes and Gardens
Serves: 4
Prep and cook time: 30 minutes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup seasoned fine dry breadcrumbs
8oz fresh green beans, trimmed
2 lemons, 1 sliced and 1 juiced
1 tablespoon capers
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Pound out chicken breasts to even thickness. Brush chicken with mustard; sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper and coat both sides in breadcrumbs. Heat 2T of olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook four minutes on each side or until no pink remains. Transfer to plates. Add 2T olive oil to skillet. Cook green beans in oil four minutes or until crisp-tender; add lemon slices at the last minute. Transfer to plates. Add lemon juice and capers to skillet and heat through. Drizzle on chicken.

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Let me start by saying the chicken was amazing. I almost always bake chicken, so doing it on the stovetop was a departure for me and it was super delicious. And we like to have a grain or starch with our meals, so I paired this recipe with frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's. I also have a few adjustments to this recipe based on how it turned out:

1. Chicken: Use liberal amounts of mustard and breadcrumbs to get them good and coated. You'll lose some in the cooking process. Also, four minutes on each side was perfect, and left the chicken tender and juicy. This was delicious, and I think it would be awesome sliced on a salad or in a wrap. I also think it would have been just fine without the sauce if you're looking for an easy chicken recipe to pair with something. I used plain old garlic/herb breadcrumbs.

2. Green beans: These were kind of meh. My biggest complaint is that they came nowhere near tender in four minutes, and I felt like the chicken was getting cold while I waited for them to cook. I would recommend boiling/steaming them first until they are almost cooked, then finishing them in the pan. I also added some lemon pepper to spice it up a bit, and I think garlic may have been a good addition, too. I love green beans and the ones I used were from the farmer's market, but I think I would have preferred roasted asparagus with this recipe.

3. Lemon caper sauce: Capers were great, but the sauce was way too tart. The lemons were completely overpowering (and this is coming from someone who loves lemon). Nate and I brainstormed a bit after dinner to figure out what would have made that more palatable, and after searching through Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, we determined it was butter. It needed butter, or oil, or something to cut the lemon juice. If you use the straight lemon juice the recipe calls for, I'd recommend a very light drizzle.

All in all, not bad. It was quick and easy, and the chicken is a definite keeper.