Need tips on cooking skinless boneless chicken breasts

[FIREd]

Another possibility:

Take a piece of aluminum foil. Place the chicken breast, some cut up veggies, a bit of white wine, EVOO, salt, pepper, herbs, etc... on the foil. Close the foil hermetically. Bake in the oven at 400-425F until the chicken is cooked through. The chicken and veggies will steam in their own juices.

Bonus: no dirty pots and pans to clean.

 

[tmm99]

You already have a lot of suggestions, but I am going to add mine to the mix.

Cover the chicken breast with plastic wrap and pound the chicken breast with a kitchen mallet to break down (tenderize) and uniformly flatten the chicken breast. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Melt tons of butter in the skillet and fry the chicken at medium temp until done. (It will definitely be non rubbery with this cooking method.) You can do half butter / half olive oil instead if you like. You can eat it as it is, or

*add other seasonings besides salt and pepper (thyme and oregano - more thyme than oregano)
*add *dry* marsala wine (chicken marsala) close to the end, or
*add white wine with a little lemon juice and capers (chicken picatta).
* add heavy cream and parmesan (chicken alfredo)

Oops, I just noticed you are trying to lower your LDL... I'd say use the dry method (the first method, with no sauce) and once the meat is cooked, drain the butter and pat down the chicken breast with paper towel to absorb excess butter from the meat... :-(

 

[Janet H]

1. Tandoori-style. Butterfly the breasts if they are large or not, if they are reasonably sized and marinate for at least 4 hours in plain yoghurt and tandoori spice mix or curry powder and some extra garlic. Grill.

2. Packet cooking. Place some interesting veggies (asparagus or fresh green beans would be nice) including garlic and onion on a large piece of foil. Add a chicken breast on top and salt and pepper. Add seasoning as desired and a little white wine, Fold foil into an envelope, tightly sealing edges and grill. Turn the packet over once or twice to cook both sides. It'll puff up as it cooks. No dishes to wash

3. Stuff the chicken breasts. Whirl this up in a food processor: onion, Sundried tomatoes, garlic, a little salami or peperoni (just for flavor) and a few re-hydrated dried mushrooms, fresh or dried herbs and a small handful of corn chips or corn flakes as a binder. Cut a slit in chicken breast and load with a couple of Tbls of the savory stuffing. Place in a oven proof dish that has a lid and add a few TBLS of sherry in the bottom. Sprinkle on salt and pepper and add a tsp of the paste to the top of each piece of chicken. Cover and bake.

 

[steelyman]

Don't forget the E-R Forum cookbook in "Other Topics":

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/er-forum-cookbook-recipe-posting-thread-25331.html

I was about to type in one of my favorite recipes for chicken breasts, then I found it verbatim on Food.com:

Chicken Supreme Dijon Recipe - Food.com - 248988

I first found it in a recipe booklet I sent away for in the early 90s from Grey Poupon ("excuse me, would you have any Grey Poupon?").

 

[ChiliPepr]

Guess I will throw my recipe into the pan ...

Get a 9x9inch pan
slice half an onion into thin rings, put in pan.
butterfly breasts and place over onion (One full or two half breasts should do it.
cover chicken with 1/4 pound thin sliced ham (cut in strips)
cover chicken with 1/4 pound thin sliced swiss cheese (cut in strips)
add one can of cream of mushroom soup (no water)
fill to top of pan with dry instant stuffing mix
cover pan tightly with aluminum foil
bake for about 40 minutes at 350.

Great easy dish. you can prep the dish and put it in the fridge, then throw it in the oven when guest arrive.

 

[Purron]

Guess I will throw my recipe into the pan ...

Get a 9x9inch pan
slice half an onion into thin rings, put in pan.
butterfly breasts and place over onion (One full or two half breasts should do it.
cover chicken with 1/4 pound thin sliced ham (cut in strips)
cover chicken with 1/4 pound thin sliced swiss cheese (cut in strips)
add one can of cream of mushroom soup (no water)
fill to top of pan with dry instant stuffing mix
cover pan tightly with aluminum foil
bake for about 40 minutes at 350.

Great easy dish. you can prep the dish and put it in the fridge, then throw it in the oven when guest arrive.

This sounds tasty. Already printed out to try since I have all the ingredients you mentioned. Kinda expected some chili peppers though

 

[ChiliPepr]

This sounds tasty. Already printed out to try since I have all the ingredients you mentioned. Kinda expected some chili peppers though

I like my hot peppers roasted and with a tomato base on the side with this dish...

"If you ain't sweating, you ain't eating!"

 

[nwsteve]

We marinate (favorite is Yoshida) for an hour (longer is fine), grill, slice and put on a variety of salads. Because Yoshida's has so much sugar, I usually grill on foil to simplify cleanup.
Nwsteve

 

[Dimsumkid]

The only thing you might be missing is brining your chicken breast before cooking it. Then prepare whatever way you like.

 

[caninelover]

Marinate boneless skinless chicken breasts with yogurt or buttermilk (add whatever spices you like) - something about the enzymes in the yogurt keeps the breasts moist and tender during cooking. Google yogurt marinated chicken - there are many recipes around the web.

 

[NW-Bound]

I just came back in town, and am late to this thread, and have seen many already suggested stir fry. One poster suggested coating the pieces with cornmeal to keep the moisture.

That reminded me of "kung pao chicken" that I have not made for a while. So, I looked and found a recipe by Wolfgang Puck as follows.

Kung Pao Chicken Recipe : : Recipes : Food Network

Hey, Wolfgang Puck does know about kung pao chicken! Coating the pieces with a marinade that has corn starch stirred in will help seal in the juice later.

I always do this dish outside, with a wok sitting on a gas burner turned on high. Would not want to smoke up the kitchen. Fast cooking on high heat keeps the meat moist. It is not "kung pao" if the dish is not hot and spicy, but one can cut down on the dry chilies if one's tongue is "weak".

Many recipes also call for some diced veggies in this dish. I usually put in some diced red bell pepper, broccoli, and onion for some nice colors. That may not be the real "kung pao" but nobody ever said veggies are bad for you. I would stir fry the chicken pieces and the veggies separately so each would be cooked just right, then mixed them back together in the wok for a few seconds before serving.

The above photo is linked in from a blog on the Web, and is not from Wolfgang Puck. However, I could see that the dish shows the same ingredients as Wolfgang's recipe. I think this is closer to the authentic dish, which may not have much veggie.

Ah... I will make this tomorrow. I already have lemon chicken baking in the oven for tonight, using Ina Garten's recipe.

 

[NW-Bound]

OK. My lemon chicken breasts are done. I did not get them to brown on top as much as the following photo of someone who also follows Ina's recipes.

I hope mine will taste as good. My mouth is watering... Will be eating this with some couscous... Am logging off... Dinner is served...

 

[haha]

I am so impressed with all the inventive cooks here. Turns out the frozen bag I thought was chicken, was really Alaskan codfish! So I haven't worked up my nerve to go for chicken breasts yet. I did bake some chicken legs tonight, and they were excellent. I have 3 left over for breakfast too.

I am thawing the codfish in the fridge now. With this I most often simmer it, dice it, and then make cod cakes with almond flower subbing for wheat flower. A pound of fish will give me dinner, and breakfast the next day with maybe a little left for a snack later.

One problem I have with more involved recipes is that I find it hard to think about food unless I am hungry, and if I am hungry I need to eat. Like I have been cooking for many years, and I think the max number of marinade jobs I have done is maybe 10.

Ha

 

[W2R]

One problem I have with more involved recipes is that I find it hard to think about food unless I am hungry, and if I am hungry I need to eat. Like I have been cooking for many years, and I think the max number of marinade jobs I have done is maybe 10.

Exactly - - for single people a simple stiir-fry is really a lot more practical then a complicated recipe or even marinade prep. The advantage of stir-fry is that it is very quick and simple, with minimal prep and minimal clean-up. When I brought up stir-fry, I was putting it forth because of that aspect of stir-fry. If you have a decent electric wok, it is very fast. Grilling on an indoor electric grill has the same advantage but takes longer. I don't see much sense in losing that advantage with either method by using an involved recipe, if one is cooking for one.

Personally, I enjoy the flavors of quality foods prepared quickly and simply.

I do use my rice cooker and have to start that early, but after starting it I ignore it until I hear the chime telling me that the rice is done.