Tag Archives: baked chicken

Grandma Lucy knows how to make chicken

Posted on by
5

When I was in fifth grade, my mom decided to pick up her career once again. After being a stay-at-home mom for several years, she started working full-time outside of the home.

She and my grandma had given me lots of time in the kitchen as their little helper, so I was very happy to do some preliminary tasks to help get the evening meal started before my mom got home from work. It was never anything major, just little chores like peeling potatoes or setting the table.

Sometimes my mom would plan baked chicken for dinner. She’d wash and trim chicken pieces and arrange them in a baking dish before she went to work. My job involved cutting up a stick of butter and sprinkling the little chunks over the chicken pieces, sprinkling it all with salt and pepper and, of course, some sweet Hungarian paprika. At precisely the right time, I would carefully slide the dish into the oven as directed.

Since I had such nice results with the recipe for Swiss Apple Pie Cake that I chose from an old church cookbook on my shelf, I pulled another book off the shelf to see what I could find for a chicken dish to serve with the Brown Rice and Veggie Bake that I made for my column this week. It was the St. Thomas Academy (Mendota Heights, Minnesota) Mothers Club Centennial Cookbook. It is a collection of favorite foods of past, present and future graduates of St. Thomas Academy at that time.

How could I pass up Grandma Lucy’s Italian Chicken? If an Italian grandma makes it, this chicken must be good. And besides, it reminded me of the chicken I used to help my mom make, with chunks of butter scattered over the top of the chicken pieces.

I adapted Grandma Lucy’s recipe a bit, using boneless and skinless chicken breasts. And, I couldn’t help myself from adding sweet Hungarian paprika. A little cayenne can’t hurt, either.

Grandma Lucy probably served her Italian Chicken with lots of spaghetti and her homemade tomato sauce. But I have to say, the baked chicken was quite delicious with Brown Rice and Veggie Bake.

I might try cutting chicken breasts into strips when my grandchildren are here next time and turn this recipe into chicken fingers. And serve it with fettuccine Alfredo, they’re favorite pasta dish. I’ll bet Grandma Lucy never did that.

Grandma Lucy’s Italian Chicken

Adapted from St. Thomas Academy Mothers Club Centennial Cookbook

  • 8 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 chubby clove garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
  • 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (more is you like heat)
  • Olive oil
  • 1/2 cup butter cut into small chunks

Trim chicken breasts, rinse and set aside.

In a bowl, mix all ingredients except olive oil and butter. Coat chicken breasts with crumb mixture. Place breasts in a well buttered baking pan with sides, leaving space between each breast. Sprinkle chicken with remaining crumbs. Drizzle each chicken breast with olive oil. Dot chicken with butter chunks. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 45 – 60 minutes or until chicken is baked through.

Bake chicken once for two to eat twice

Posted on by
2

Have you ever had one of those busy buzz-by days when you suddenly realize it’s time to start preparing dinner and you have no idea what that will be? I was having one of those days. I went to the freezer, thinking some digging around through the meat shelf might give me some ideas. I found a freezer bag holding four big bone-in chicken breasts. Okay, those would become supper.

I didn’t have a lot of time to think about how I’d prepare them. While the chicken was thawing in a bowl of cold water, it gave time to think of some options. I figured a little seasoning and some time in the oven would do the trick. I thought about using a technique my mom often turned to. When I was about 11 years old, I remember her instructing me to place cleaned and trimmed chicken pieces in a foil-lined baking dish, dot the chicken with little knobs of butter, sprinkle everything with salt, pepper and paprika and put it in the oven to bake. Easy. Quick.

I didn’t have much time for meal preparation, but I wanted a little more than buttered baked chicken. I went to one of my favorite old church cookbooks and found inspiration.

I sliced a small onion and scattered them in a small baking dish, making a bed for a couple of the chicken breasts. I decided to store the remaining two chicken breasts in the refrigerator for another meal within the next couple of days. Parmesan cheese, cream and seasonings and fresh garlic are all it took to get the meat ready for the oven.

As the chicken neared the end of its baking time, I heated up some leftover Layered Autumn Vegetable Crisp from the refrigerator. A salad of fresh greens or some sliced fruit rounds out the meal.

This chicken dish is just right when you’re cooking for two. The chicken breasts I used were so large, my husband and I split one breast and saved the other for slicing up to use on sandwiches or salad.

Using bone-in chicken breasts delivers great flavor and moist, juicy texture. I did remove the skin from the breasts before baking. Heavy cream poured over the top of the breasts helps seal in the moisture. I always use an instant-read digital thermometer to test the doneness of the meat.

This chicken was so good, I wound up using the two uncooked breasts in the refrigerator to prepare this recipe again a couple of days later.

Prepare this quick and easy baked chicken for two. You’ll bake once and eat at least twice.

This will be a recipe I’ll be using often during busy days leading up to the holidays. I’ll have a stash of bone-in chicken breasts in the freezer and cream in the refrigerator.

Breast of Chicken (For Two to Eat Twice)

  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 bone-in chicken breast havles
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • Paprika
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (or more if you like)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a shallow baking dish that will hold the two chicken breast halves. Place the onion slices in the baking dish in an even layer. Place grated cheese on waxed paper. Coat chicken on all sides with cheese. Lay chicken on top of onion slices. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Slowly pour heavy whipping cream over chicken. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and paprika. Push smashed garlic cloves into the top of chicen breasts. Slide the chicken into the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until meat is cooked through.