Are you ready to make an awesomely delicious meal that can also be healthy? Well, then it’s a good thing you’re here at healthfoodhappy.com.
I can’t get enough chicken. I love chicken breast sandwiches, entrees that include it, and almost everything else in between. Now, I know you’ve had a bunch of unhealthy chicken dishes and you’re kind of skeptical as to how this really can keep form being bad for you. Well, when you switch out the unhealthy frying for baking, it cuts out the unnecessary oil you fry in. While there is some oil in this dish, it’s not nearly as much as you would glop into a pan on the stovetop. Also, you don’t need to have oil in every baked dish, it just works well to keep the bread crumbs on the chicken breast. Plus, it’s healthier than butter if you use olive oil.
So, I am writing instructions for two chicken breasts, and you can just change the recipe accordingly if you are feeding more people. Let’s get started!
What you’ll need:
2 chicken breasts store-bought preferably (I don’t know if you were planning on killing your own chicken for this dish, but in order to keep myself immune from salmonella lawsuits, I advise you to buy your chicken in the store.)
1/3 a cup of olive oil
2 cups of bread crumbs (you can use your own mix if you have one, but they’re also readily available in most stores.)
1 tsp of salt
A pinch of pepper
1 tbsp of minced garlic
¼ a cup of chopped green onions
1/2 bag of frozen broccoli, or alternately, 1 crown of broccoli from the produce aisle.
Preparation:
First, set a large pot of boiling water on the stove to start the broccoli. Next, lay baking sheet on a flat surface, and set the chicken on top. While the broccoli water is heating up, you will mix your salt, pepper, and garlic with the olive oil in a small cup or bowl. Then, you will baste the top and sides of the chicken breasts with the mixture and roll them in a bed of your bread crumbs. By now, let’s say your water is boiling, so you can throw the broccoli in. Just throw another pinch of salt in the water with a couple capfuls of olive oil and you’ll be good to go with that.
Next, put your chicken in the oven at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Once the oven timer dings, bring your chicken out, carefully flip it over on its top and baste the bottom with the olive oil mixture. Then, sprinkle some bread crumbs on, but leave it less crumb-y than the top and sides you did earlier. This will make sure the bottom has some crisp to it, but doesn’t get too soggy because of the whole breast sitting on the plate with this part on the bottom. Before you place the chicken back in the oven, flip it back to its original position and use the rest of your olive oil mixture for giving the top another very light basting. Now, put it back in the oven and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees for another 5-7 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Make sure you check on the chicken at the minimum amount of time as many oven and altitude variations will cause variations in the cooking speed. Now, bring your chicken out and let the pan cool a bit. Go back to your broccoli now and see how it is doing. It should be tender enough to stick a fork in, but not so soft that the fork slides back off of it when you don’t want it to. And now you’re ready to plate and serve your delectable dish.
**Note, this dish can be served with asparagus instead of broccoli. It is a great combination and I have a great asparagus recipe for you to try out with it.