November 19, 2010

Garlic Baked Chicken



As a homeschooling mother of 3 (well, homeschooling 2-our baby is a little too young!), I do not work outside of the home.  My husband is the sole provider, so staying on a budget is a must.  I coupon like crazy & end up saving a fortune that way.  But, you never really see many coupons for meats - and meat is one of the most expensive things on the grocery list for many of us.  So, when meats go on a good sale at the grocery store, I always buy plenty for freezing.  Boneless skinless chicken breasts are my favorite sort of meat to stock up on as they are so versatile.  I have developed my own way of freezing them that really saves time for me, and also contributes to the flavor of the meat no matter what you are planning on doing with them.  I divvy them up between Ziploc freezer bags, putting 3 large or 4 normal sized breasts in each package..  From there, I pour different marinades in each one & label them.  Italian Dressing is my favorite to use because it gives the meat just enough flavor, and is mild enough to use in most chicken recipes without messing up the flavor of the finished product.  Other favorites are Allegro , Honey Teriyaki, & Chipotle.  (Lawry's makes some pretty good marinades too)

Last night for dinner, I made some Garlic Baked Chicken with a package of thawed Italian dressing marinated chicken breasts.  It really isn't a recipe to it - just something I through together one night & it turned out to be a big hit.  You don't have to use marinaded chicken breasts in it - that's just how I package my chicken, and I love the extra bit of flavor & tenderness that it lends my chicken dishes.




Pour a couple tablespoons of melted butter into a good bit of minced garlic.  I use about 8 large cloves b/c we love us some gah-lic!  I use a Genius garlic press for the mincing process.  Just makes it so much easier.  If you don't have a garlic press already, and use a lot of garlic - this is one kitchen gadget you'd love.




Pour in some olive oil.  Microwave the mixture for 1 minute.  Remove, and give it a quick stir with a fork.  Microwave for another 30 seconds.  This gets all that good garlic flavor infused with the butter & olive oil.






Mix together equal parts of Parmesan Cheese & Italian Bread Crumbs.






Dip the chicken breasts in the garlic mixture, coating both sides...




Then into the dry mix, coating all sides well....




Place the chicken breasts into a baking dish.





Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 35 minutes.




You can serve it like it is - or you can sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top for an extra bit of specialness....




Pop it back into the oven for just a couple minutes to melt the cheese on top.




Now, wasn't that easy?  And it tastes just as good as it looks, if not better!  :)~




Garlic Baked Chicken

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