Easy Cesar Chicken Breast

Remember that staples list? Mhmm. Here's where it's important. This recipe calls for only 4 items.

What's important is learning how to cook chicken without annihilating it. Undercooked chicken is very bad. Most meat needs an interior temp of 160 degrees to kill off any bacteria. Bacteria is what makes you sick. Meat thermometers are not expensive. There is another way to test, if you don't have a thermometer.

Make a fist with your thumb covering your index finger's big middle knuckle. The thumb should be flat and you should be using light pressure to make the fist. Not a tight "Hulk smash!" fist, but some pressure in there. Poke the meaty part that bumps up next to the base of your thumb. Does your poking finger bounce a little when you jab that meaty spot? That's what boneless chicken breast will feel like when it is finished cooking. Chicken should rest a little after cooking. It will keep cooking for the next few minutes once you take the meat from the oven. Give your chicken about 5 minutes, then cut into it. If you see pink - toss that sucker back in the oven, and make your fist a wee bit tighter next time. You can use a spoon or a fork to poke the chicken, rather than your darling digit. In the same way it's not fun to burn yourself on hot meat, it's not fun to stab yourself hard in the hand with a fork. Be gentle, smart and safe. 

Cesar Chicken Breast - Recipe

2 Boneless Chicken Breast Halves

1 t Adobo Crillolo

1 T Sazon Complete

2 T Ken's Cesar Salad Dressing

Foil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Trim and rinse your chicken breasts. Lay them on a sheet of foil that has been placed on a cookie sheet or baking pan. Sprinkle the tops with your dry seasonings, then drizzle the Cesar Salad dressing over the spice. Fold the foil up and seal the edges to make one foil package. Does it have to be perfect? Nope. Just try to keep from making holes in the foil. You're going to want those drippings later. Cook for 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breasts. When you take the chicken out of the oven carefully open the foil, not wanting to get burned by the steam that will be released. Poke your chicken in the thickest part. Feel almost right? Yay! Seal the foil back up and let it sit. Still not too sure? Cut into it. A touch pinkish? Close the foil and let the interior heat finish the job. More than a touch pink? Stick it back in the oven for another 5 minutes or so. 

There are lovely drippings caught up under your chicken. Waste not, grasshopper. If I am going to serve the chicken diced (in a pasta salad or green salad, for example) or sliced (in a hot pocket or pita sandwich) then make sure to toss the cut chicken in the juices and let it sit for at least 10 minutes to soak up all that goodness. Otherwise, you can use this juice in place of water in rice or couscous as a lovely side dish or make a gravy with a little bit of flour/water roux.