While many of us have a lot of unexpected free time due to the events surrounding COVID-19, finding things to do in these times may difficult. While everyone is under quarantine and staying out of the public as much as possible – now is the perfect opportunity to work on and/or pick up new skills.
One of the things I personally enjoy doing in my free time is cooking. With some of the extra time I’ve had, I’ve been able to learn quite a bit and improve some of my existing abilities.
In this post, I will share with you how to cook the best chicken you’ve ever had. This recipe and the instructions following thereafter are simple, but I thought it would be neat and of use to others who either want to learn how to cook for friends/family – or just impress them come lunch/dinner time.
Prep
For this recipe, you’ll need to start things off by doing some prep work.
Step 1 – Gather ingredients
For this recipe, you will need to gather the following ingredients.
- Chicken breast(s).
- Kraft Zesty Italian dressing (16 oz).
For the chicken breast, I only use Schwan’s signature boneless and skinless chicken breast fillets which come in frozen. If you live in an area where they service, I highly recommend checking them out!
The Kraft Zesty Italian dressing can be store bought either online or physically from virtually every major grocer/retailer.
Step 2 – Thaw chicken
This step can be ignored if you choose to use store bought chicken breasts, which end up coming out just as fine.
Unless you have a knack for Schwan’s like myself!
However, depending on how many people you are serving, place frozen chicken breast pouch(es) in a large bowl and fill with piping hot water.
Step 3 – Marinate chicken
After you have thawed the chicken breast(s), unwrap the chicken from the pouch(es) and dispose of the plastic.
Place the chicken breast(s) to the side on a plate and begin cleaning your large bowl out with soap and hot water.
After you have done that, place chicken breast(s) back into the cleaned large bowl. Use about 1/4 of a bottle of Kraft Italian dressing and cover the chicken breast(s) with the dressing.
Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours to fully marinate.
Cooking
After you have followed the necessary prep steps, you can now proceed to cooking the marinated chicken.
Step 1 – Preheat grill/oven
For this step, when it starts to approach about an hour or two that you’ve had your chicken marinating in the fridge, begin preheating your grill/oven.
If you’re opting to use an oven, place the temperature for 350 degrees. However, I prefer using the grill whenever I cook this, preferably a holland grill!
Step 2 – Cook
After your oven/grill has reached 350 degrees, you can begin cooking the marinated chicken.
You will need to cook the chicken for 25 minutes. If you’re using a grill, you will need to flip the chicken over once. After you have cooked one side for about 12-13 minutes, proceed to flip the chicken over for another 12-13 minutes on the grill.
Step 3 – Rest
After your chicken is done cooking, remove it from the oven/grill with a spatula and place onto a serving dish – preferably le creuset!
Let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
Step 4 – Serve!
Your chicken is ready to serve! It will be sure to impress some family/friends around lunch/dinner time.
Notes: I usually like to make long-grain wild rice and asparagus and/or broccoli to go with this chicken. Also, Silver Spring horseradish makes a tasty addition as a side to the chicken. All in all, this makes for a very healthy and balanced meal!
The recipe itself is a very simple one however, every time I make this for family/friends it’s always gone. Hopefully, you enjoy this recipe and can share with others who may find it useful.
In the future, I may post some more of my favorite personal recipes for those who are interested in trying new things or just wanting to learn how to cook!