OMG. Just wait until you taste my Chicken Scampi! Tender chicken cooked in a delicious sauce and served over pasta. Sound good? You bet it does.
Chicken Scampi Recipe Below
CHICKEN SCAMPI RECIPE
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Scampi
3 TBS butter
2 TBS olive oil
juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
2 tsp+ Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk seasoning mix (may want more)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh parsley, minced or 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 cup white wine (Chardonnay)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
sliced lemons (garnish)
Cooking the Chicken | Needs to be 165 degrees internally
2 TBS oil
1 TBS unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
You may cook the whole chicken breast, or pound it out (quicker cooking) or slice into chicken tenders; it is up to you. Pat chicken down to make sure the chicken exterior is dry and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the heavy skillet and oil on medium-high oil. Flick some water in it to make sure it is hot; usually around the three minute mark. Add the chicken and make sure there is enough room – do not crowd the pan.
SET IT AND FORGET IT.
Set the timer for five to seven minutes (depending on the size of the chicken breast) and walk away from the chicken. It does not need babysitting during this time. When the timer goes off, you may now approach and slowly flip the chicken.
If it doesn’t want to be turned over and feels stuck, it needs another minute or two to turn golden brown. That’s the key here and when it is golden brown, the feeling that it is stuck when flipping is gone – it easily turns over. Beautiful color isn’t it?
It will take approximately 5 to 7 minutes more to finish cooking on the other side. Like my note above states: the internal temperature should be 165 degrees. Remove the chicken from the heavy skillet and place on a plate for now.
Now it is Scampi Time. Get rid of the oil and wipe out the skillet – we are going to make scampi sauce.
DO NOT FORGET
Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain. You will want the pasta hot when putting it all together so don’t make it 30 minutes before the scampi is done. I usually cook it when making the scampi sauce.
Prepare Scampi
In the same heavy skillet, add butter, olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, and parsley flakes. If it is not enough sauce, just double the recipe. Some love extra sauce and if you are using it for your pasta I certainly would double it.
Whisk together and when butter mixture is hot, add the white wine and dried parsley (if using dried parsley) bring to a boil. Whisk while mixture is rendering down. This only takes a couple minutes or so.
Add cooked chicken and pour some butter sauce over it. Lightly sprinkle with the dry Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch seasoning mix. That’s why we have the chicken covered in butter sauce – so the dry mix sticks and soaks up the butter. You may put it under the broiler for a minute or two if you wish. If you are using freshly minced parsley, now is the time to sprinkle over the chicken.
FINALE
Toss the butter wine mixture with bowtie (or your favorite pasta), freshly grated Parmesan, and red pepper flakes; all optional of course. Serve with a fresh salad and soft homemade bread to sop up that sauce!