The Poultry Prospect, Nobrega's Baked Chicken

What’s better than an easy chicken dish packed with flavor? Not a lot. Today we will explore an easy recipe that you can use to make a delicious baked chicken breast, or some crispy tendies. Let’s dive into it;

-What We Need-

• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts(or 4 Tenderloins)

• 2 Cups(ish) of our Basic Breading

• 2 Eggs

• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour

• ½ Lemon

• Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

• Optional:

  Chicken Parm-

  ½ Cup Hard Cheese(added to the basic breading)

  ½ Cup shredded mozzarella(set aside for finishing) 1Cup of tomato sauce(much better with a homemade sauce, but jar sauce is fine)

-Let’s Make It-

1) Assemble our breading station: Make sure to get containers or dishes that can fit your chicken in easily. Your first container will have your flour, followed by a container with those 2 eggs(beaten) and the third will be our basic breading. Add your hard cheese to the basic breading if you plan on making chicken parm.

2) Preheat your hotbox to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 176 degrees Celsius.

3) Take your chicken out of the refrigerator, and pat it dry with a paper towel. You can pound it out if you would like to, but it isn’t necessary. If you do decide to use the magic meat hammer on your chicken, place your breast in a freezer or storage bag, and use a meat mallet, or the backside of a heavy pan.

4) It's time to get breading. Once you have your chicken ready, and patted dry, place gently in the flour, and coat it. Make sure to shake it off so you get rid of any excess flour. You want a thin layer of flour on your chicken.

5) Next, bring your chicken over to the egg station and coat with your beaten egg(also a thin layer, but use different hands for the flour and the egg bath, because no one needs a club for a hand)

6) Now we place the floured and egged chicken into the breading. Coat the entire piece with your breading, and press the breading into the chicken to make sure it sticks very well. Transfer to a wire rack on a baking sheet so that all your chicken’s sides are exposed.

7) Place your breaded chicken into the oven, and bake for roughly 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature at the thickest point is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, or 74 degrees Celsius(use an instant read thermometer. No one appreciates undercooked or overcooked chicken). Remove from the oven and let rest a couple of minutes so that you don't burn your mouth.

8) Squeeze your lemon half over your baked chicken, and serve. Enjoy!

* If you are making chicken parm, and added your hard cheese to the breading, instead of squeezing your lemon juice onto your chicken, sprinkle your shredded mozzarella on top of your chicken, and place directly under your broiler for about 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty. Cover the top with some warm to hot tomato sauce. Dust some extra parmesan on top and Enjoy.

Thank you for coming and checking out this new recipe. This has to be one of my favorite mains for any meal because of the simplicity, and flavor bomb that is our basic breading. I hope you all enjoy this easy baked chicken, and come back for more. As always, Stay Happy. Stay Healthy. Stay Cooking.

Nobrega's Kitchen