Have you ever noticed that when you go to a fine dining establishment like McDonalds, a non-battered-and-fried chicken breast sandwich often costs more than a hamburger, but at the grocery store, chicken usually costs less than beef?
At home, barbecuing either meat takes about the same amount of effort, but if like me your apartment doesn't have outdoor space sufficient for a barbecue, you must look instead at your stove, wondering how much grease will splatter when pan frying a burger. The idea of baking a burger is somehow simply wrong, although meat loaf is a tasty alternative if you can wait over an hour to eat.
Believe it or not, baking chicken is pretty easy and takes about half an hour. With the help of Reynolds Non-Stick Pan Lining Paper, it can even be Quick-Clean Cuisine.
In addition to Pan Lining Paper, you will need:
6 pieces of Low-Carb Bread
*2 fresh (not frozen) boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
sprinklings of ground thyme
sprinklings of ground pepper
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1 large celery stalk
1 table spoon of onion flakes
8 ounces of chicken broth
To make this as quickly as possible, you need to be able to make toast at the same time you prepare the chicken. It's not rocket science, but if it makes you feel less stressed, you can make the toast before starting the chicken.
Toast 6 pieces of bread
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a lined baking dish, trim the boneless, skinless chicken breasts into thinner fillets. Hand trim any excess fat or skin that will most likely be present.
Sprinkle the chicken lightly with thyme and pepper. That's sufficient seasoning to create a tasty meal, because chicken has a somewhat salty flavor naturally (although perhaps I find that true because I insist on buying only chickens raised on Frito-Lay products served from pottery bowls made by Navajo native Americans rather than chickens who subsist on whatever they manage to peck out of the dirt).
Put the chicken dish in the pre-heated oven and set a timer for 15 minutes.
On the plate you will be eating from, cut the toast into strips and then cross-wise into cubes. I've found I can cut about three pieces of toast into strips at a time without squashing them too much, but then cross-wise seems to be less predictable. In any case, don't spend more than five minutes making cubes from all of the toast, or you're being too exacting and will face a government crackdown. Similarly cut celery into small pieces.
Put the diced toast and celery in a sauce pan with onion flakes, shredded carrots and chicken broth, along with light sprinklings of pepper and thyme. Stir as it cooks over medium heat on the stove top
When the timer dings (or 15 minutes passes, for you Luddites who refuse to use the latest timer technology), take the chicken dish out of the oven and transfer the stuffing out of the sauce pan and into the dish with the chicken. Most of the stuffing should be on top of the chicken.
Put the dish back in the oven to bake for another 15 minutes.
While the chicken and stuffing bakes, wash and dry the sauce pan in which you made the stuffing. Yes, this is a lot more work than typical Q-CC but significantly less than preparing Thanksgiving Dinner.
When the timer dings, TURN OFF THE OVEN, and check to see if the chicken and stuffing look done. They probably are, but if not, check your facebook page before plating it for dinner.
This has proven to be exactly enough for two people to eat, but for one person, there should be a nice leftover meal to enjoy for either lunch or dinner in the next day or two. Simply put the leftovers into a small microwavable dish, cover with Saran Wrap and refrigerate.
Wash your plate, and then wad up the pan lining paper and put the baking dish away. Cleanup complete.
*You might prefer legs or wings, but I usually buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts (not to be confused with split chicken breasts, which also work for baked chicken, although I recommend skinning them before cooking, and obviously you also will have leftover bones, too, making them less q-cc compatible). Frozen chicken also works, but you obviously need to allow more time for it to cook. Adding this asterisked item adds a certain amount of professionalism to this recipe, which will make you take it more seriously. If you always buy boneless, skinless chicken breast, you don't need to read this section. Carry on.
