Cooking with COVID: Edible Chicken Breast
One of the least talked about casualties of COVID has been the loss of interest in cooking.
It’s no surprise that the Pandemic has forced us all to start cooking more. In fact, more than half of us (55%) are eating at home more often now than when the pandemic began, according to these guys.
Yet, despite all the sourdough bread making, cookie circles, homemade cocktails, and other retro Americana culinary activities experiencing a quarantine-inspired renaissance, some 65% of Americans are simply tired of cooking. And another 55% have said it’s left them feeling “fatigued.”
Our farmer friend Mica over at Mariposa Ranch shared on her ranch blog just last week that fixing meals for her family “felt like it never ended.” With my family of five (including a teenager and tween who eat like adults), I can relate.
I used to be the dad who would come home from work, open the fridge and see an Iron Chef challenge in my head. How I whipped something up in 45 mins to feed my growing family was invigorating. I’d throw on the French Cooking Station on Pandora, open a bottle of red, and get to it with a smile on my face. Of course, if it had been a bad day at work, I could also just pull an audible and take the family out to eat.
But now, the grind of getting three squares out to children who never leave the house has gotten so bad that my wife and I have resorted to scheduling our weekly meal menu on Google Calendar! This “rinse and repeat” methodology helps take the anxiety out of “what’s for dinner,” but it also has syphoned the life and excitement out of my cooking experience like a giant culinary Dark Crystal sucking the esense out of a poor Podling. Google it if you don’t get my drift.
The other factor why people have a case of the culinary Mondays is that people are on a budget more than ever these days. Who isn’t looking to stretch their dollars a bit more to accommodate the new reality?
If you’re feeling the same way, I thought I might periodically share some of my favorite week-day recipes to help with meal planning each week, and stretch your ECB meat purchases for the budget conscious.
Edible Chicken Breast
I find chicken breast to be the most boring of proteins. In fact, I don’t really eat it unless I’m having a salad with my wife for lunch. She—on the other hand—eats boneless, skinless chicken breast EVERY DAY. And if I don’t keep it stocked in the fridge, she’s off to Trader Joe’s to buy some ABF knock off. Not in my house! B/S breasts are Pasturebird all the way! (Of course, if you buy a whole chicken, and break it down, you’ll save some money and have a number of new recipe options. But that’s another blog post.)
Here is a super simple, easy to make recipe that gussies up that chicken breast, and can be a main dish at dinner, or sliced and diced for a lunch salad. This makes plenty of leftovers—although you can easily double the recipe for larger crews like mine. We eat 4lbs of B/S breast a week—lunch salads mostly. It’s also a great carb deterrent when you’re looking for a mid-afternoon snack. Shoot, my son will sometimes have a mug of chicken cubes for breakfast. Anyway….
Recipe: Edible Chicken Breast
Ingredients:
-- 2lbs. chicken breasts (4-5 Pasturebird breasts)
-- 1/2 tbsp herbes de Provence
-- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
-- 1 tbsp ECB Beer Mustard
-- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-- 1 tsp soy sauce
-- 1/2 cup olive oil
-- salt to taste
Instructions:
Marinade -
— Combine garlic, HdP, mustard, vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil, and salt, whisk or stir with a fork until contents are well mixed.
-- Add chicken and marinade to a gallon freezer bag and place in the fridge for at least two hours, or preferably overnight. You can also do this after making breakfast for the kids and it will be ready by dinner time.
Cooking
-- Pre-heat oven to 375°F
-- Add entire contents of bag (chicken and marinade) into shallow casserole pan or glass dish. Keep the chicken breasts packed together tight. Add more liquid (water, wine, broth) if the pan is exposed.
-- Cook until internal temp is 160 degrees (about 30 mins) and remove from the oven.
-- Let chicken rest uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately or slice/dice and store in the fridge for up to a week.