Friday, January 18, 2013

RECIPE: Cheesy Chicken

Cheesy Chicken | parmesan, garlic, and herbs | egg-ofthephoenix.blogspot.com #chicken #parmesan #baked
Cheesy Chicken

Okay, I'll start by telling you I made this up today off the top of my head. I have an idea to finish perfecting it, but oh my God it was still delicious. I promised to share the recipe.

Ingredients
Chicken breasts
Parmesan cheese, at least one full regular-sized canister for six breasts
Seasonings of your choice (I picked a McCormick garlic and herb thing)
Olive oil

I preheated the oven to 350 according to these instructions.

Line a Pyrex or similar dish with foil and spray it with your choice of oil or cooking spray. I used a pump sprayer with olive oil. I then sprinkled a little parmesan cheese. I don't know why I did this and you don't have to. I just... did.

I poured olive oil into a large bowl. I washed my chicken breasts to get the preservatives off them, according to that above link. I like that they felt less greasy once I had. It felt cleaner. Anyway, then I plunked them in the bowl, usually two at a time so I didn't have to fill the bowl too much. After trying with several different utensils, I gave up and mixed it around with my hands.

I first attempted pouring cheese on a plate with high-ish sides. I mixed in some of my seasoning, plopped the chicken on and tried to pat it on. The method I settled on was just dropping the chicken on an empty plate, sprinkling seasoning, sprinkling a bunch of cheese, and patting it all on with my hands. Near the end I'd put a bunch of seasoning in my olive oil bowl, which deposited some of it, but I still had to sprinkle it on the chicken, so I think it was a waste.

As I coated them, I placed them on the foil. I sprinkled extra seasoning and cheese on top, and then I drizzled (okay, splashed; I'm not good at drizzling) some of the remaining seasoned EVOO from the bowl on top. I baked it for 25 minutes and the meat thermometer read just over 160, but when I took it out the thermometer dropped and I tested it and it was pink inside. Total cook time was 40 minutes.

It was delicious! Super tender, probably from all the oil in the pan. I put it next to so Pastaroni Angel Hair Pasta, the Parmesan version. Now, I didn't write this as a traditional recipe (Do this, then do this...) for a reason. I made this up as I went, and I wanted to point out the weird things I tried. Now that it's done, the flavor was perfect, but I want to try mixing in some breadcrumbs with the cheese, for a better coating texture, and/or trying an alternative to coating it with EVOO. Brooke at The Circle Married the Line suggested mayo or yogurt, both of which I hate. Having been assured you don't really taste the mayo, I want to try that next.

So I left this recipe a bit open-ended. I will make this again soon and try new things. But if anyone attempts it, or has made similar recipes, tell me what you do/did differently. Lets make a recipe, ladies!

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