Pan-Fried Chicken Smothered In White Sauce With Broccoli - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts (butterflied and or pounded flat to tenderize. These should be 3/8'' thick)
1/4 teaspoon paprika (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder (not salt, or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt, or to taste)
1/2 cup flour, divided
2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk (more or less as desired for thickness)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 broccoli florets

Preparation

Place chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet or back of a heavy frying pan until about 3/8\" thick. An alternative is to butterfly each breast or purchase them already butterflied.
Dry the breasts and sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika to taste.
Reserving 2 tablespoons of flour, dredge chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off excess.
Put oil into a non-stick skillet and heat on medium high until oil begins to shimmer. Add chicken and saute about 5 minutes on each side, until it is golden brown and developed a thin crust. Remove from pan to a plate and keep warm.
Add the 2 tablespoons of butter together with the reserved 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for a minute, stirring constantly. scraping up any brown bits attached to the pan.
When the roux has formed, add about 1 cup of milk, slowly, stirring constantly, to make the white (bechamel) sauce. Adding more milk will make a thinner sauce, less milk will make a thicker sauce. Allow the sauce to reduce to your desired thickness.
Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, steam the broccoli by your favorite method.
Return chicken to the pan and smother with the sauce. When the chicken has been heated through, serve immediately with the broccoli, smothering both the chicken and the broccoli.