Sauteed Chicken with Sage Browned Butter

Chicken shows up on our dinner menu at least once a week, more often than not, two times. I love how versatile chicken can be – I can make fajitas one night, and lemon chicken the next – and it is a completely different meal. Unfortunately though, my kids are not as thrilled as I am. I often get, “We always have chicken…” Or, sometimes I get, “Of course we are having chicken, what else is new?”

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light and for some reason it stayed in my head – without even ripping it out of the magazine and putting it in the pantry. The other night, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner – and when I looked in the refrigerator, there were two items that called out to me – chicken and sage, left over from a chicken saltimboca I made the week before. This recipe seriously took me no more than 10 minutes and we were sitting at the table enjoying our meal. The kids loved it – and what is not to love – everything is better with butter…everything. So what do you think is for dinner tonight?

Ingredients

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
2 sage sprigs
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Fresh sage leaves (optional)

Preparation

Place each breast half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; coat with cooking spray. Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in flour. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan.

Add butter and sage sprigs to pan; cook over medium heat until butter browns. Discard sage. Add shallots and thyme; cook for 30 seconds. Add lemon juice; cook for 30 seconds. Serve with chicken. Garnish with sage leaves, if desired.

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