The Easiest Chicken You’ll Ever Make

0

How about a super easy chicken dinner tonight? Is it just me or is dinner that thing that is just kind of constantly hanging over your head? What if dinner could be that easy thing that takes 5 minutes to prepare, that you don’t have to do any special shopping for, and that is still healthy and delicious?

Introducing: Poulet en Papillote! 

chicken | Albuquerque Moms BlogDon’t worry, it sounds fancy, but its actually SUPER SIMPLE. Poulet en Papillote just means “chicken in parchment” in French.  I just learned this cooking technique a few months ago and it’s definitely my new favorite! Here’s how it works: you take a chicken breast, put some spices on it, put some vegetables on top if it, wrap the whole thing up in parchment paper and then bake it.  The beauty is that you can use just about anything in your fridge and whatever you want from your spice rack. The possibilities are endless. 

Behold: Chicken in Parchment

Take a chicken breast. (I usually buy a big bag of individually packaged frozen chicken breasts from Costco so that I always have some available). Then lay it in the middle of roughly 18” of parchment paper. 

Season your chicken with whatever strikes your fancy. Don’t be afraid to be a little generous. My go-to is salt, pepper, and garlic powder. (One time I put a couple slices of lemon on the chicken, and it was HEAVENLY!)

Add your vegetables right on top of the chicken.  Green beans?  Squash? Tomatoes? Peas? Whatever is in your fridge are the right vegetables for tonight. Drizzle some olive oil (or if you’re feeling saucy, use butter instead) over the veggies and season them with salt and pepper.

Bring the two sides of the parchment paper together above the chicken. Fold the parchment together until your chicken is snug in its little pouch. Take the sides and twist them to seal in all those flavors.

Bake the chicken pouches at 400F for about 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken breast). Chicken should temp at 165 with a meat thermometer to ensure that it’s fully cooked.

Open and serve with your choice of starch (I like mashed potatoes or rice). Because you have baked the chicken in its own little pouch, the chicken will be SUPER moist and will have created its own delicious sauce. 

A few little tips:

  • make sure you only use one chicken breast per pouch.
  • The only thing limiting what kind of spices and veggies you use is your imagination. Be creative & be generous!
  • Be careful when opening the pouches, the sauce created by the chicken and veggies will be HOT

Bon appetit!

Previous articlePreparing Kids for the Holiday Season
Next articleAlbuquerque Moms Blog :: Introducing Lenny Kucenski
Joanna Rushing
An Albuquerque native and a graduate of the University of New Mexico, Joanna is a Burqueña through and through. A mother, wife, musician, actor, and lover of all things Green Chile and Harry Potter, Joanna welcomed her first baby girl into the world in February of this year. She's been spending the subsequent months trying to figure out just how this motherhood thing works and wondering if her house might one day clean itself. Joanna loves to travel, play her guitar, cook, and drink good beer and coffee. She's a big fan of experiences and memories and hopes to pass that love on to her daughter in the years to come.