Recipe of the week

Laurianna Cull

Pan roasted chicken breast with vegetable medley.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast (per person)

Olive or vegetable oil

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Garlic salt

Paprika

Half a red onion

Half a yellow pepper

half a red pepper

Half a squash or zucchini

Equipment needed:

Oven

Two pans (one with metal or oven-safe handle)

Knife

Cutting board

Tongs

Spatula

Pan-roasted chicken Steps

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Rinse and then chop the vegetables into bite sized pieces. (Cut the zucchini and squash horizontally, peppers will be cut lengthwise and then chopped again in half. Onion can be diced or cut into half rings.)

Place chopped vegetables in a bowl.

3) Drizzle some oil into a pan, enough so that you can coat the cooking surface in oil by tilting the pan. (Using too much oil will not only make the chicken taste greasy, but can also burn you as the oil will pop at high heats.)

4) Once the pan has been oiled, place it over a fairly high heat and let the pan heat for about a minute. Then place your chicken breast on the pan.

5) Season the top side with a pinch (A healthy pinch; this is really to taste but most cooks will grab a decent sized pinch) of salt, pepper, garlic salt, and paprika ( Be less liberal with paprika and garlic salt, those have distinct and strong flavors!)

6) Let the chicken cook on that side for about a minute (once it’s started sizzling) on close to high heat, until the side that is cooking develops a decent sear (light brown in appearance at the center of mass with the surrounding surface being a pale white color, (If you enjoy more sear on your chicken, let it cook a few seconds longer.)

7) Flip the chicken over and season again, allowing the other side to develop a similar sear (seals in the flavor and the moisture). Once both sides have received a preliminary sear, this shouldn’t take more than a minute to a minute and a half on either side,

8) Place that pan in the oven. This will cook for about 12-14 more minutes in the oven.

Vegetable Medley Steps

1) Once the chicken is in the oven, wait about a minute and grab a second pan and melt some butter (about a tablespoon. If you want to cut calories, you can use oil instead.) Melt the butter at medium heat to prevent it from burning.

2) Once it’s melted, throw your vegetables Into the pan, and season with the salt pepper and garlic (you can use paprika, based on preference).

3) Cook at a high heat, stirring occasionally. After about five minutes of cooking, lower the heat to a low medium setting and stir occasionally to prevent sticking to the pan.

At this point your chicken should be close to done. Make sure to use an oven mitt or a towel to protect your hand from being burnt when you pull the pan out of the oven. If you have a thermometer, make sure the chicken is 160 degrees before serving. If you don’t have a thermometer, just cut into the breast and make sure there is absolutely zero pink inside. You don’t want to serve your guests food poisoning on a plate. If you find the chicken is not fully cooked, don’t despair, put it back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes. Make sure your vegetables are not burning. At this point they should be done, and you can turn off the heat and cover the pan or simply leave It on simmer. If the chicken is indeed done, remove it from the pan and serve it with your vegetable medley.