Nothing says Merry Christmas like a mushroom?

On my birthday I mentioned that I made a fabulous Chicken Piccata dinner and I wanted to share the recipe with you.  It's always amazing when I make a meal and every single person in the family likes it and eats every bite.  That was this meal.  I will be adding it to the monthly menu rotation (not that I really have a monthly menu rotation, but it just sounded good).  

And if you're looking for a healthy dinner, then you might just need to look elsewhere or be really good at healthy substitutions - I am sure this is loaded with fat, but man-o-man is it tasty.  No wonder everyone loved it.  

Although, I learned the hard way that kids don't like capers.  They thought they were peas and Taylor commented, "These are the worst peas I've ever eaten.  They taste sour." 

Also, the recipe calls for mushrooms, but I know the boys don't particularly care for them, so I left them out.  That decision came back to haunt me in another form.  

The kids got these chocolate advent calendars from their uncle Jay.  Every day they open up a door and behind it is a small piece of chocolate with a special Christmas design on it.  Here is an example of some of the pieces.  

A Christmas tree.

A sleigh full of presents.

A Christmas ornament.

And then of all days, my birthday, the kids open door #22 and what do they find behind it?  A mushroom.  Since when do mushrooms have anything to do with Christmas?  Really?  Have I missed something?  It's because I omitted them from my Chicken Piccata recipe, isn't it?  I knew they would come back to haunt me.  Well, either way, the boys ate their "mushroom" that day.  

Here's the recipe for any of you who are interested.  Have a wonderful Christmas.  And if you're still looking for a last minute gift, I hear mushrooms are the latest tradition.

Chicken Piccata

3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp paprika

2 eggs

3 tbsp milk

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat

6 tbsp butter

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup white wine

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup cream

3 tbsp capers

DIRECTIONS:

In a shallow dish, mix together flour, salt and paprika. In a separate dish mix together egg and milk. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, then in seasoned flour.

In a large skillet, heat butter over medium high heat. Saute chicken pieces until golden brown. Add mushrooms and saute for 3 to 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl combine the broth, wine, lemon juice and cornstarch. Mix together and pour mixture over chicken and mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium low and let chicken mixture simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Add cream and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add capers in the last 2 minutes. Serve over angel hair pasta.