Paleo Chicken Scallopini Over Spaghetti Squash

I opted for another Italian dinner tonight. It was hearty, filling and delicious! I always hear how difficult it is to give up Italian food when choosing the Paleo lifestyle. I hope that you don't believe that's true! While it might be a little bit more challenging, it is still completely possible to enjoy Italian cuisine. Spaghetti squash is amazing as a pasta substitute ...and was particularly tasty tonight under the chicken & capers. Enjoy! :-)

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 C almond meal

1 T dried parsley

pinch sea salt and 1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 C sliced mushrooms

2 T capers

2 T lemon juice

1/4 C white wine (or chicken broth)

1 lemon, thinly sliced

*Spaghetti squash

Recipe:

Pound chicken breasts pretty thin (about 1/4 inch). Combine almond meal, parsley, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Dredge chicken breasts in almond flour mixture. Brown chicken breast in olive oil, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken breasts. In same pan, add garlic and mushrooms and saute until tender (you may need to add a tad more olive oil). Add wine and deglaze pan. Stir in capers and lemon juice. Add chicken breasts back to pan. Place thinly sliced lemons over the chicken pieces, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve over a bed of spaghetti squash & enjoy a Paleo-friendly Italian meal!

*This is how I make the spaghetti squash (there are other methods out there... this just works well with me):

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pierce spaghetti squash with a knife several times. Place entire spaghetti squash in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully slice in half. Spoon out the center seeds. Now place both halves back in the oven for about 10-15 more minutes in a baking pan with about 1/4 C water. When center is soft and tender, remove form oven. Let cool slightly and scoop out all the meat of the spaghetti squash into a bowl. It should be easy to scoop with a spoon from the shell and come out looking like strings of spaghetti noodles! A very versatile and tasty vegetable!