This is a meal I've made quite a few times. It's quick and simple, the best kind of recipes! Although, complicated ones can be fun too.
Country Style Chicken
Yield: 6
Prep: 15 Min.
Bake: 20 Min.
Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 envelope onion soup mix
(Adapted from Taste of Home, More Fast Fixes with Mixes)
Directions
I forget to take the meat out of the freezer far too often so, be sure you've put your frozen chicken breasts into the fridge to thaw the day before you want to make this (or morning of). You'll want to get out a baking sheet and grease it however you'd like. I usually use cooking spray.
Flatten the chicken to about 1/2-inch thickness. Then cut the chicken breasts into 3-4 relatively equal, pieces. I prefer smaller portions but if you'd like to just cut them in half, you can.
In a small bowl, beat the egg and water together.
For the breading, you can either use a small bowl or a large ziplock bag. I've done it both ways, it's completely up to you! Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, paprika, garlic powder and onion soup mix in your chosen vessel - bowl or bag.
Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture then in the breading, coating them completely. Then place on the baking sheet. The original recipe said to drizzle with melted butter but I prefer olive oil, however, it's not completely necessary either way.
Bake uncovered at 350° for 20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. If you choose to use larger pieces, you may want to bump it up to 25 minutes. You can test the meat with a thermometer, be sure it's above 165°.
 |
| Ignore my dirty, old baking sheet. |
Green Beans
While the chicken is baking, you can start the green beans. You can also choose another vegetable if you don't like green beans.
These are pretty simple though. You just need green beans, fresh is best but frozen will work. I never use canned though so I couldn't tell you how that would work. If you have fresh, be sure to pinch off the ends. You can break them in half if you need to but it's not necessary.
Get a skillet! Put some olive oil in there! I used this fancy flavored olive oil that I get from this lovely little store in town that has a booth at the farmer's market (expensive, but awesome).
I like to sauté them over low-medium heat. If the pan is too hot, you'll scorch the outside of the bean. You can put whatever seasoning you want in there. I usually use Italian Seasoning - a mix of a few spices. Be sure to move them around so they don't stick to the bottom. Basically, you just want to get them good and hot. Overcook them and you'll end up with limp little green beans and no one wants that.
A friend of mine in college made green beans with honey and almond slivers. I still make it that way to this day but Ethan doesn't like it as much as I do. I LOVE doing it this way and definitely recommend trying it. You can spray the pan with cooking spray but you wouldn't need the olive oil in this case.
So... dinner done and positively delicious!
Husband Rating:
Thanks for reading! -K
