Crockpot Chicken Piccata

If you haven't figured out by now, my family survives on quick fix meals. I absolutely love the convenience of microwavable meals but the quality and content of them can make even the hardest at heart jump out of their skin when you read the labels. The sodium content alone is usually enough to make me start to sweat so to my husband's discontent I've been refraining from buying those go-to dinners. Nowdays I come home from the store and he looks around asking "well what did you buy?", because he doesn't see anything he can grab and eat out of the box. But I know that not only are our homemade meals healthier they are actually cheaper. Because my man can eat and those out-of-the-box meals end up only satisfying him as a snack, whereas I can make much more myself! Case in point is tonight's recipe. Michael Angelo's dinners are absolutely amazing. I love them, what can I say, they're the next best thing to homemade, HOWEVER, they cost an arm and a leg. I usually buy a 2 pack of their Chicken Piccata at Sam's for about $12.00, and we end up eating both packs for 1 meal. Whereas I can make my own with twice as much for less than $5.00! So after a little research and compiling a few recipes I've created a yummy Crockpot Chicken Piccata.

Menu: Crockpot Chicken Piccata, garlic mashed potatoes and seasoned peas

Crockpot Chicken Piccata

Ingredients:
4 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and ground black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, quartered
1/4 cup drained capers
1/2 can of diced tomatoes

Set your crockpot on low for 6 to 8 hours, depending on your time requirements.

1. Place chicken in zip-top bags and pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin until 1/4-inch thick.
   
2. Remove chicken from bag and season all over with salt and black pepper.
   
3. In a shallow dish (or plastic bag), combine flour, lemon zest, paprika, and garlic powder. Mix well. Add chicken and turn to coat.
   
4. Remove chicken from flour mixture and shake off excess flour.
   
5. Add chicken to crockpot. Add lemon juice, wine and chicken broth. Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes and capers.
6. Allow to cook thoroughly, once chicken is cooked through you're ready to serve. If the sauce is too running use the cornstarch trick.

When your chicken is done prepare a box of garlic mashed potatoes per its directions and pop a bag of seasoned peas in the microwave. I like Bird's Eye Garlic Peas. Plate your chicken, potatoes and peas! What a yummy home cooked meal!

Photo courtesy of FoodNetwork.com