I think what I'm making here was actually called something like Chicken with Mustard Breadcrumbs, out of some long-forgotten cookbook, but sometime when Deirdre was about seven, she referred to it as Chicken Lightly Seasoned, and that name has stuck! (The recipe is at the end of the post.)
It's a real favorite around here, and it's fairly easy if you have breadcrumbs on hand. I try to keep a supply in the freezer -- if you use a mason jar instead of your blender container, it seems like less of a commitment to throw the heels of your bread and other stale sundries in there and store them as you go along. Somehow, cleaning the container doesn't seem worth it to me.
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| Bread crumbs from the freezer. Yes, I use a wooden cutting board for dealing with the chicken. The Chief made it for me of one piece of wood, so it has no seams. The fact is that wood is naturally acidic and anti-bacterial. Plastic gets ruts from the knife (and that's no good for your knives, by the way) that then can't be scrubbed. The key to cleaning up meat juices is abrasive scrubbing and hot, soapy water, as the bacteria start forming sticky bonds right away. As the wood slightly wears away every time you scrub it, no ruts form and you can do a good cleaning job. |
{Did you know that any regular mason jar (not wide mouth) works with the blender blade? This fact makes my blender ten times as useful as it would be otherwise. Every once in a while, I ponder getting rid of it. I have a food processor and a stick blender. Do I really need another appliance? But then I go to make breadcrumbs, and the answer is... yes, yes I do.}
Anyway, here's the method. There's not much to it!
Let's break it down.
First, chicken breasts are more appealing (to eat, not necessarily to prepare!) if you pound them. You can do this all at once when you buy your packages on sale, and then freeze them pounded -- all ready to go -- or you can do it when the filets are even partially defrosted. The first step is to cut the breast so that it's starting out as somewhat of an even thickness. That way the pounding doesn't take long.
You want to make a flap in the fat side (keep in mind that breasts are paired, so one will be the mirror image of the other, in case, like the young me, you kept being puzzled by how it seemed different every time you did it). This helps ensure that the meat is cooked evenly, because you are not going to cook it for very long. You don't want dry chicken. I have a tendency to undercook meat because I have such a horror of dry meat! But pink chicken is a no go. So an even thickness is what we're aiming for.
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Now get a piece of plastic wrap and something -- anything -- to pound with. This is my pounder of choice. It's a steel for honing knives, and I use it for that too. But it's heavy and round enough at the handle, the business end here, but also long enough so that I have a bit of leverage. If someone bought me an official meat pounder, I would probably still use this. The plastic is just so chicken juices don't spatter all over.
Just give a few good whacks, mostly at the thicker parts. The point here is to even things out, as well as tenderizing through whacking. You can skip this step, and sometimes I do. But the texture of the chicken is always better if it's pounded.
Now, oil a shallow baking tray and place the breasts on it so they don't touch. (I usually cut each breast half into half again, just because a whole one is less versatile.) You don't want juices forming to make things soggy, so they need room. Coat each one with dijon mustard. In a hurry, you can use it straight from the jar -- only, don't. Using a clean spoon or knife, put a few tablespoons in a bowl and use that, so you are not putting a chicken-y knife back into your jar!
If you are low on mustard and have a little time, you can add some oil to what's in your bowl and it will go further. But straight is fine.
Coat the breasts with a thin layer of mustard.
In a skillet with about a tablespoon of butter or oil, brown about a cup of breadcrumbs mixed with some dried garlic powder and dried parsley. When they are lightly coated and toasted, you want to spread them on your filets. (Go head and make a big batch and freeze it this way -- then next time, you don't have to do this step at this particular time.)
Bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until they have slightly shrunk and the tops are nicely browned.
The only drawback to this chicken is that it's hard to serve attractively. Oh, the individual pieces are good looking enough. It's just the whole shebang that represents a problem.
You really don't want to do anything to mess with those delightfully browned crumbs. Transferring the cooked filets to a platter cools them too quickly and, if you're not going to overlap them (which you can't, or they'd get soggy), it seems like keeping them on the baking sheet is fine, if slightly declassé.
By the way, these freeze very well, layered (when they are cooled down) with wax paper and sealed in a plastic container. Just defrost and heat right up.
Now, I like to serve a light main course like this with at least two side dishes and rolls. With a growing family, you really need to think differently. A sedentary adult might be fine with a chicken breast and a little salad, but a child won't last long, and might not like the salad (some do, some don't, and when they don't, it totally grosses them out). And at dinner time, very small children are on different hunger curves. You can always use each dish in another way on another day, so making this much food is never going to set you back. In fact, you will be ahead of the game.
And, of course, rolls or bread (stockpile in the freezer so you are not doing everything on the same day)! These are my spent grain rolls.
That way, even a little of everything will be a satisfying meal.
For the squash, at a previous time when you have the oven going, pop a butternut squash into the oven. Just as is. Eventually, it will start to smell really nice and get soft. Take it out and let it cool until you are ready to deal with it -- truly, a few days can go by -- it will be fine!
Cut it open, remove the seeds, peel it (so easy, especially when compared to the raw state!), and chop up the flesh. Add butter and salt (cinnamon if you like, but no sugar -- it will be plenty sweet!) and heat it up with the chicken (put it in while the oven is pre-heating -- it will need about 20-30 minutes to get nice and browned).
I tweeted this spinach recipe last week. It's so easy. (Recipe at the end of the post, doubled.)
I try to keep certain veggies in the freezer: A bag of spinach, corn, peas. So handy for rounding out a meal. For this one, peas would work great, but this spinach is just so delicious!
Sauté your spinach in olive oil. Add a can of artichoke hearts (another pantry must-have), drained and cut up. You want to fry things up until there is no water left.
Here are your two secret ingredients that will replace all packets and seasonings you might be using. You see, those things contain MSG!
But you can get the same good flavors without scary stuff. Just start with these:
Add about a teaspoon of each to the spinach, as well as salt. Then a good squeeze of lemon, and at the end, about a quarter cup of grated cheese -- either cheddar or parmesan. A little cream would be heavenly...
Some like their home-brew, some their wine.
And there you have it, a very much beloved dinner at our house!
Chicken Lightly Seasoned, Like Mother, Like Daughter
{This dish is definitely both easy and elegant -- except the presentation is tricky. If you want to get fancy, be sure you warm up your (rather large) serving platter so that the chicken doesn't get cooled down before you serve it.}
Serves 8
At least 14 chicken breast halves, depending on size of eaters
Dijon mustard, scooped into a bowl so that you don’t contaminate your jar
Olive oil
2 cups coarse fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon dried or fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
½ teaspoon salt
Pound chicken breasts to even thickness, cut in half. Place on oiled shallow baking tray with a little space in between each piece.
Toast bread crumbs in oil and mix with the seasonings.
Coat each piece with mustard (you can thin the mustard with some oil if you like, but it’s not necessary).
Sprinkle a good coating of seasoned crumbs on top, covering each breast well.
Bake at 375° for about 12 minutes or until the filets are cooked through, slightly shrunk, and browned.
Serve immediately.
Spinach With Artichoke Hearts
Serves 8.
2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen spinach
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained and sliced in half or quarters, depending on size
olive oil
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of a lemon
1/2 cup grated cheddar or parmesan cheese
a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream if you like, never a bad idea
Sauté the spinach in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and seasonings. Cook until there is no excess water.
Add lemon juice (if you add it too soon, the spinach might turn an unappealing color), cook briefly, add cheese and allow to melt. Stir in that last bit of cream if you are serving to company.
