Step 1: Prep the Chicken

1. First, you need to cut each chicken breast in half horizontally (like your opening a book). Be super careful not to cut yourself! I’ve done that before and it’s not fun. You’ll end up with 4 thinner pieces.
2. Now the fun part – put the chicken between plastic wrap or parchment paper and pound it until its about 1/4 inch thick. This is seriously THE most important part of the whole recipe!! Don’t skip this! If the chicken isn’t thin enough, it won’t cook right and the whole dish will be meh. I usually pound it while imagining my boss’s face after a bad day at work 😜 Great stress relief!
3. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. This helps the flour stick better and helps it brown nicer.
4. Mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a shallow dish (I use a pie plate).
5. Coat each piece of chicken in the flour mixture. Shake off the extra – this is important or your sauce will get all gummy later!

Step 2: Cook the Chicken

1. Heat up your pan on medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter.
2. Once the butter is melted and the oil is hot (but not smoking!), add the chicken pieces. Don’t crowd them! I usually have to do this in 2 batches.
3. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side until they’re golden brown. The exact time depends on how thick your chicken is and how hot your stove gets. Mine always runs hot so I do more like 3 mins.
4. Take the chicken out and put it on a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. Try not to eat a piece right now even though it smells amazing – I always sneak a little bite tho tbh.

Step 3: Make the Yummy Sauce

1. In the same pan (don’t wash it!!! all those brown bits are flavor gold!), add the minced garlic. Cook for like 30 seconds until it smells good.
2. Pour in the wine if using it (take a sip for yourself first haha) and scrape all the yummy brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble for about a minute.
3. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers. Let it simmer and reduce by about half. This takes like 3-5 minutes.
4. Now the chef’s secret trick – turn the heat down low and add the cold butter one piece at a time, whisking the whole time. This makes the sauce all silky and amazing. If you dump all the butter in at once it doesn’t work the same!
5. Taste it and add more salt or pepper if needed. But remember capers are already salty so go easy on the salt.

Step 4: Putting It All Together

1. Put the chicken back in the pan with the sauce. Spoon some of that liquid gold over each piece and let it warm up for a minute.
2. Sprinkle with the parsley.
3. Serve it up! Make sure everyone gets plenty of sauce – that’s the best part! I like to add a few lemon slices on top because it looks pretty and makes me feel like a fancy chef lol.