Simple baked Chicken Breast with flavor

You know most of us have tried to watch what we eat at some point. So what do we usually turn to? Grilled chicken breast. One of my coworkers who eats out every lunch had gone on a diet. We saw her in the cafeteria miserably eating her grilled, skinless chicken breast. Of course she wasn't enjoying it. All they did was grilled up some frozen chicken breast. You can enjoy a healthy meal though if you added a bit more flavor to it. 

Our dinners have been pretty simple lately: lean protein and veggies. So you can imagine we've been cooking lots of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. One night I cranked the oven on 425 degrees F. In a small baking dish I drizzled a little bit of olive oil in the bottom of the baking dish and laid about 6 chicken breast in there that's been seasoned with salt and pepper. Added a splash of apple cider vinegar, splash of white wine, couple cloves of garlic, couple of sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Baked it until a meat themometer registered 165 degrees F. The chicken came out juicy and moist. And there was so much wonderful citrus flavor from the vinegar and wine. It was just a simple, healthier meal I cooked up, but then it hit me, some people wouldn't know healthy can taste good. You just need to add a bit of flavor. 

Chipotle Chicken Salad

Whipped up some chicken salad with the chicken tenders, celery, and lettuce we had. The result ended up being blog-worthy. It had a nice bit of kick to it from the chipotle chile pepper and lots of flavor from the other spices making this salad a keeper. And it was so easy and quick to put together. I had to blog it to remember what all I threw together. 

Chipotle Chicken Salad

6 chicken tender

1 bay leaf

6 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

1 clove garlic, smashed and halved

1 tsp Kosher salt

Grinds of Grains of paradise or black pepper

Put all contents in a medium saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Transfer cooked chicken to a cutting board and let it cool. 

To prepare the rest of the chicken salad, mix together in a medium bowl:

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

4 tsp capers, chopped, plus 1 tsp brine

1 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 lg spoonful mayo

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp chipotle chile pepper

Pinch of salt and pepper

Dice the cooked chicken and toss with the contents of the bowl. Serve over mixed greens and with some mozzarella. 

Chicken Piccata

I don't know why people complain about how cooking a good meal takes too much time out of their schedule. Or requires too much planning for the ingredients. I whipped up this dish in less than 15 mins, including prepping, and with ingredients I had leftover in the fridge! This chicken dish had a bit of tang from the wine and capers, and subtle sweetness from the honey butter. They complimented and balanced each other so well. It reminded me of a chicken piccata dish so I guess you can say this is an adaptation. 

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients approx.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/2 c white wine

2 oz caper brine

1/2 tsp capers

1 lg garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp dried oregano 

1 tsp honey butter

Salt and pepper

Flour for dusting 

Olive oil

Place one chicken breast between a piece of Saran Wrap. With a meat mallet (the prickly side) pound the chicken breast out until it's about 1/2 inch thin. Repeat with the other chicken breast. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts. Then coat in flour and shake of any excess. 

Add oil to a deep skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken breast about 3-4 mins per side. When done cooking, let rest on a plate. 

To make the sauce, deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the capers, brine, garlic, and oregano. Then melt in the butter. Cook for a few mins until slightly reduced. Serve the sauce over the chicken. Enjoy!

Crispy Chicken Tenders

Quick and easy crispy chicken tenders:

10 chicken breast tenders
Dried Oregano
Dried Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Flour
1 large Egg, beaten
Panko
1/4 c Black pepper parmesan

Heat oil in a deep fryer.
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper the chicken. Season with oregano and thyme. Set up your breading station: add some flour to one bowl, the beaten egg to another, and the panko, parmesan and pinch of salt to the third bowl. Coat a chicken tender in the flour, then dip in the egg, then coat in the seasoned bread crumbs. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Fry until golden brown.

Artichoke-Ricotta Chicken

I wasn't sure what to call this dish. Basically, I took some chicken breasts, topped  it with a ricotta and artichoke mixture, and broiled it in the oven until golden brown. I loved this dish so much. The ricotta gave the dish an overall light texture. But the star was the artichoke. It gave a bit of tang to the dish and you're left wanting more. You can always lighten this dish up more by using less ricotta or even low-fat. I didn't want any leftover ricotta to go bad so I used the entire small container.

Artichoke-Ricotta Chicken

Ingredients
2 large boneless chicken breasts
15 oz ricotta cheese
14.75 oz marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

My chicken breasts were pretty thick, so I sliced them in half to get 4 thinner chicken breasts. (This way, you can reduce the cooking time on the chicken as well.) Place a chicken breast in between saran wrap and gently pound out with a mallet. (I just wanted to increase the surface area a bit and tenderize the chicken. Don't pound it to mush.) Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and cook the chicken, about 10 mins on each side.
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, artichoke hearts, parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Lay the cooked chicken breasts in the baking dish. Then evenly top the artichoke-ricotta mixture on each chicken. Broil in the oven until golden brown, about 10 more mins. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Thyme Fried Chicken

What do you do when your thyme garden has been growing like crazy? Cut a huge handful and add it to this buttermilk bath for some fried chicken. That's what I did. And it was delicious! I was amazed when I took a bite of this chicken. Not only was it juicy, but the thyme really came out. It was the first flavor I tasted, making these fried chicken taste so fresh and earthy. Then you get the smokiness from the paprika.We were thinking we could experiment with other herbs, like rosemary, next time.

Buttermilk Thyme Fried Chicken

Ingredients

For the buttermilk bath:
8 chicken thighs
8 chicken legs
half a 1/2 gallon of buttermilk
1 large bundle of thyme
1 large garlic clove, smashed
3 bay leaves
2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For the flour dredge:

2 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
4 tbsp buttermilk powder
2 tbsp confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp dry mustard
4 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

canola oil for frying 
2 tbsp of vegetable shortening

Prepare the buttermilk bath:
In a large tupperware, add all the ingredients for the buttermilk bath, and mix well. Place the lid on the tupperware and place the tupperware in the fridge. Let the chicken marinate for 4 hours.

Prepare the flour dredge by combining all the dredge ingredients in a large ziploc bag.

Add about an inch of canola oil and the vegetable shortening to a deep cast iron skillet. Heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F.

Remove the chicken pieces from the buttermilk mixture, letting the excess drip off. Transfer to the bag of seasoned flour, seal and shake to thoroughly coat. Remove from the bag and shake off any excess flour. Carefully lower the coated chicken into the oil. (Don't crowd your pan. I fried in small batches of 2-3 pieces of chicken at a time.) The temperature will drop, adjust the heat accordingly to keep the heat around 300-325 degrees F. After a few minutes, you can turn the chicken over. (You want to let it sit in oil undisturbed at first so the coating can set.) Fry a total of about 14-16 mins for thighs, and 12-14 mins for legs, turning as needed. Transfer the fried chicken onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet so it can drain, sprinkle with salt and let rest for a few minutes. Repeat with the remaining chicken.