Lets talk about breasts!

CHICKEN BREASTS!!!

Boneless skinless chicken breasts are the most versatile ingredient you can have in your kitchen. I'll be posting more recipes using them in the future, but I wanted to give you some ideas for the time being.

1. The best thing you can do if you are too busy to cook all the time is pre-cook some chicken breasts. Here is what I do:

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. get out a cookie sheet or roasting pan and coat it with pam or any oil
3. brush some oil on the chicken breasts
4. Give them a liberal coating of salt and pepper. Don't use a TON of salt, which I did once and won't do again. Salt draws the moisture out of the chicken, and if you use too much you will get a tough leathery chicken-jerky skin on the chicken which is awful.
5. Depending on how thick the chicken breasts are, cook them for 20-25 minutes, or until they aren't pink in the middle. 

I usually do 3-5 at a time. The more chicken breasts you cook at one time, the longer it will take. Now, you can leave them whole or shred them. Now lets talk about what you can use them for!

Shredded Chicken Breast

1. Add it to soup you make in the crock pot. 
1. chicken broth/veggie broth with carrot, celery, onion
2. chicken broth/veggie broth/mexican tortilla broth with carrot, celery, onion, corn, tomato, cilantro, chili powder
2. Tex-Mex
1. Tacos on soft or crunchy tortillas: lettuce, tomato, other taco toppings. Paleo version: shredded chicken covered with taco sauce, tomato, lettuce, cilantro.
2. Whole grain rice with shredded chicken, taco toppings (DIY chipotle. Chipotle uses jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, and onion in almost all of their salsas)
3. Italian
1. Stuff manicotti shells (pre cooked_ with shredded chicken, tomato sauce, and veggies. Cheese optional. Smother with enchilada sauce or tomato sauce and bake at 350 for 20 mns.

Whole Chicken Breast

1. Serve with sliced roasted bell pepper, garlic, and whole grain rice
2. Serve over whole grain spaghetti/noodles with tomato sauce
3. Serve with roasted potatoes: drizzle olive oil over diced potato, add salt and pepper, roast at 375 for 30-40 mns. (Potatoes take a while to cook!)
4. Serve over a salad of romaine, sliced strawberry, fresh ground black pepper, and your favorite vinaigrette 
5. Serve over a salad with tortilla strips, bell pepper, tomato, and diced avocado
6. Flatten RAW chicken breasts by putting them in a bag and pounding them with a glass or a meat hammer. Put a thin strip of cooked rice, chopped mushrooms, seasonings, and cheese if you want! Roll them up, drizzle oil and salt/pepper, Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. 

There are literally hundreds of recipes for chicken breasts. Experiment! You really can't go wrong. 

Thanks for reading!