Foody Friday - The "chipper" Chicken

Remember that line from Father of the Bride? Martin Short? One of the best characters of all time. It's been years since I've seen that movie, and my gut starts to erupt in laughter just thinking of that crazy wedding planner.

ANYWAY...

Chicken. A standard. I try to buy chicken (any meat, really) in one of two ways...

I wait until I find a really good deal on chicken, most often a buy one, get one free deal, and buy as many are as allowed (usually limit of 4 or 6 packages). Then I'm set for a while.

OR

At Super Target, I look for the little $3 off stickers on their meats. I see them maybe 30% of the time that I'm there, and a lot of the time it's like on Filet Mignon or something (Gee, $32 and then $3 off... not much help!). This can be a really good deal. though.. I bought 5 - 1 lb packages of stew meat once and ended up paying like $.90 each.

ANYWAY, Take 2...

Here is a recipe I created this week. It's a little odd, because of what I happened to have on hand (LOTS of fresh sage from our CSA, and a ton of arugula - I know, sorry, more arugula); what I didn't have on hand (breadcrumbs); and what I had left over from another recipe which was 1 day from it's expiration date, so I needed to use it pronto (Heavy cream).

So, what do you do with fresh sage, arugula and heavy cream? And Chicken, because, well, it's the FF theme this week.

Well, first of all, you throw away any idea that this is going to be a healthy, light meal.

Goodbye.

Then you throw away the idea that you are going to get ANY leftovers for yourself.

Adios.

Here's what I did...

Greeny Fettuccine Alfredo with Herb-Crusted Chicken Breasts

16 oz fettuccine
3-4 large leaves fresh sage (or 1t dried sage)
2 cups seasoned croutons (we used garlic Caesar)
20oz package boneless/skinless Chicken Breasts
4T canola oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 green onion, sliced thin (white and green parts)
1/4 cup packed fresh sage, chopped
1 cup packed arugula (or spinach or other green), chopped
2/3 cup Heavy cream
a sprinkling of flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook Fettuccine noodles as directed on package.

Meanwhile, pound out chicken breasts thin with a meat mallet (get creative with a heavy flat object if you don't have one), easiest done between two pieces of saran wrap. Slice the breasts into 2 or 3 pieces, so they are a manageable size.

In a blender, whiz up the croutons and sage until they are fine.

In a small dish, coat both sides of chicken with the crouton/sage mixture.

Heat oil in a large pan (cast iron is my favorite), and fry chicken until brown and crispy on both sides (since the breasts are thin, they will cook through fairly quick).

Remove chicken onto paper towels. Drain any excess oil from pan (I leave a little bit).

Add the garlic to the pan, stirring quickly, until garlic is starting to brown. Add onions, and saute for one minute. Add sage and arugula and stir until wilted.

Add heavy cream all at once, stirring and scraping the pan to incorporate all the flavors.

If the sauce seems too thin, whisk in a sprinkling of flour.

Season with salt and pepper, pour over the fettuccine noodles on a serving platter, and top with chicken.

NUM. MY.

OH, and don't forget to comment on the giveaway post! I'll pick a random winner on Saturday morning, while sitting in bed drinking a latte and eating cinnamon rolls and reveling in the care I will be recieving following a small and unmentionable surgery I am having on Friday. They say I need to take it easy for a day. Or was it two? Can I get two? THREE!! SOLD!