20 Minute Baked Chicken

As I've mentioned before, I like to buy larger quantities of boneless skinless chicken breast when it is on sale and I freeze it in small portions for easy thawing. Sometimes, I am in a bind and need to find a quick recipe to whip up that is filling and low on calories. This is where 20 minute baked chicken comes in!

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into one inch pieces
garlic powder
black pepper
onion powder
1/2 cup chicken broth (I used reduced sodium Swanson broth)

Optional: Salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a small baking dish. I used a 9 inch round pie dish. Sprinkle the above seasonings on the chicken. Some people may prefer to add salt, but we avoid it for health reasons. Slowly pour the chicken broth into the dish around the chicken. Try to avoid pouring directly onto the chicken or the seasonings will wash off. Place your dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check the largest piece to see if it is cooked. You can either use a meat thermometer (165 degrees minimum) or just check to make sure that the juices run clear and there is no pink in the center. That's it! This pairs up well with practically any sides you have on hand. Check back soon for a recipe for the butternut squash in the photo!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

It has been a few days since I have posted because Justin and I spent several days eating that huge turkey! Now that all of the leftovers are gone, we wanted to try something different. I stumbled across this recipe online, but needed to make modifications because we didn't have all of the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2-3 large eggs

1 cup corn starch 

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil

Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 Tablespoon soy sauce (we prefer the low sodium variety)

Put the oil in a frying pan and heat on medium. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut up the thawed chicken into 1 inch pieces. In a bag, combine corn starch, salt, and pepper. Add chicken pieces and shake the bag to evenly coat each piece. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and dip each corn starch coated piece into the eggs, then place in the frying pan. Cook the chicken until it is lightly browned but don't cook it all the way through. Place the browned chicken into a baking dish. Mix together the sauce ingredients and pour over the chicken. Bake the chicken in the oven for about an hour, turning the chicken a few times to every coat it in sauce. We served this with white rice and mixed veggies. Enjoy! 

Money and time saving tip: We like to buy large packages of fresh boneless skinless chicken breast and package it into small portions before freezing it. We knew we were going to make this recipe ahead of time, so I cut up the chicken before packaging it and thawed it overnight in the fridge before making it. A good set of kitchen shears makes it easy to cut up meat!

Perfectly Easy Roast Turkey in an Electric Roaster

Who doesn't love a juicy turkey this time of year? I recently picked up a Bella 18 Quart Roaster Oven from Target for $27. I have always had trouble keeping the breast meat moist when roasting in a typical oven due to conflicting recipes online. This roaster made the easiest, most juicy turkey I have ever had. Preparation was simple and it only took 3 hours to cook. I started off with a 13.5 lb Honeysuckle turkey that I picked up before Thanksgiving for .59 per pound. I then rinsed the turkey and patted dry with paper towels. I then rubbed about 1/4 cup Smart Balance spread over the entire bird and tucked a few pieces under the skin. Then a rubbed in a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder all over the skin. 

Once the bird was seasoned, I preheated my roaster oven to the highest temperature possible and once preheated, cooked the turkey for 30 minutes. Then I lowered the temperature to 325 degrees for 2 and a half more hours. It is very important to leave the lid on for the entire cooking process. No basting is required or necessary. The end result was a moist turkey with crispy skin. Cooking times will vary based on the size of the bird. 

One of the best parts about using the roaster oven is that you have your regular oven open to make even more yummy dishes!

Update: since posting this recipe I have made a few additions to make a more flavorful turkey. I now stuff the cavity with 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped stalks of celery, and a chopped onion. Then I carefully pour a can of ginger ale and a small can of chicken broth into the cavity. Delicious!