Monday, May 30, 2011

A Guest Post by my step-daughter, Erin

Simple and Fast, Just How I Like It!

First off, let me say that I am, by no means, a chef. I like it simple, fast all the while using little ingredients and preferably staple spices such as oregano, garlic powder and parsley. Lucky for me, this recipe calls for 2 of those staples and everything else I already had in my refrigerator. This recipe was a bonus find on top of a really good day at work so, I hope you find it just as easy to prepare and serve as I did.

Garlic Cheddar Chicken



Ingredients: 
1/2 cup butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves pounded thin

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes
In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper and salt.
Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the bread crumb mixture.
Arrange the coated chicken breasts in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with remaining
bread crumb mixture.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
(Allrecipes.com)

Now, let me tell you just how EASY I made this for myself. The chicken breasts I used were the frozen kind that you buy in bulk. LOVE them. They always come out super juicy and delicious and I save a ton of money by buying them like this. The garlic I used was the pre-minced garlic that comes in a jar. I just scooped 1 full teaspoon in with the butter. Keep in mind, I was only cooking for two and I only cooked 3 chicken breasts. 1 teaspoon was plenty however, if you plan on making 8 chicken breasts, like the recipe calls for, then I would do 3 teaspoons of the minced garlic. The Parmesan cheese was not "freshly" grated. It was from a bag. KRAFT to be exact but it does the trick even though fresh probably would have tasted a bit better. Oh, and same with the Cheddar cheese.. KRAFT, all the way! I can't stand black pepper so, I left that out and instead of regular salt I used my favorite, Lawry's seasoned salt. To top it off, I cooked the 3 chicken breasts in my toaster oven. I live by my toaster oven! I cook everything in it since it is just the two of us and living in southern California, my house gets too warm firing up the oven so the small toaster oven is just perfect. I cook a mean rib-eye steak in there as well as salmon!

With tonight's chicken, I served sauteed fresh asparagus with olive oil and Lawry's salt along with some delicious yellow corn.

My cooking is nothing like my step-mom's, my pictures aren't as flattering, but I love to cook and I love to share recipes. I hope you enjoy my post and try the chicken.. pretty sure you'll be pleased! ENJOY!

Happy Cooking,
Erin

14 comments:

  1. that looks truly divine...I see the cooking hat is worn by you both...yummy

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  2. What a wonderful meal! I love parmesan and chicken! Yum!

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  3. lovely simple recipe great for busy folks and healthy too :-)

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  4. Simple and quick meals are great. I like the new design of your site and the phrase about family being the main ingredient of life!

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  5. Great recipe and wanna to try it soon, thanks.

    farida
    http://kitchensuperfood.com

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  6. Wonderful platter, makes me hungry..

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  7. Simple and delicious looking. I like it!

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  8. Hi Erin,

    I'm a huge fan of melted cheese dishes so I'm totally loving that you have Parmesan and Cheddar in this recipe. The bread crumbs add a nice crispy touch. This recipe is perfect for me as I like simple, fast dishes with little ingredients as well. Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe. Gotta love the toaster oven ;)

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  9. Erin..thanks for sharing such a mouth watering dish. Cheese and mixed herbs with the added crispness of the chicken breast. Yummy !

    Veronica...thanks for this guest post..hope you will invite her more often :)) 2 wonderful chefs to share with us delicious food :)

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  10. this looks yummy - bookmarked! :)

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  11. That looks simple, healthy, and not a throw-together at all! Great presentation!

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  12. David, Lyndsey, Rebecca, Three cookies, Farida, Priya, Jay, yummychunklet, LeQuan, Elin, Aarthi, Alice, Nobel4lit: Thanks all for your comments on Erin's post. I will past them to her. It is amazing how she can come out with tasty meals using a toaster oven. I have suggested to her that she do a guest post for me monthly and she agreed. YAY!! So, you guys will see her here more often. Please drop by and give her your support. Maybe someday, she will be inspired to have her own cooking and baking blog:D HUGZZ to all!

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  13. love this post! and the recipe sounds easy and yummy! thenks erin for sharing!

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I love to hear from you. Your comments mean a lot to me. Thanks!