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.

Garibaldi cookies - Recipe

My mom was crazy hooked on these cookies for a while, then they stopped being sold. *gasp* I found a recipe. They were called Sunshine Raisin Cookies or something like that. I like this basic recipe because it does teach a couple of really good to know lessons.

1. Raisins must be chopped before cooking. If not, they swell and become crunchy tick things that don't stick to anything and fall out of what you're eating. I run mine through an electric mini chopper until they barely start to make a ball.

2. Raisins might be tough in your cooking unless you hit them with a bit of hot water. This works for any dried fruit, really. Craisins? Yep, them too. I use a Tablespoon of hot water per cup of chopped dried fruit. How hot? Stick your finger in it. If you say "Wow, that's hot!" then it's hot enough. If you scream and need ice - that's too hot, silly biscuit. :) Boiling water and skin are not a good combination. Like, ever.

3. Raisins and apricots are high in iron. There may be times that this is a good thing for you. Girls, when you hit 13 or so, ask your mama. She'll splain it. Boys, this isn't so much a tip for y'all.

4. Butter vs Margarine vs Shortening - Each has their own benefit. When a recipe asks for butter, you can't always substitute margarine.. The difference is in the fat content. Margarine has a lot of water in it, butter does not. It's better to substitute shortening for butter, rather than margarine.

5. What the heck is "cutting in butter"? You slice butter or toss smallish chunks of shortening or margarine into your dry (flour) mixture and use two knives slicing across each other in an X pattern - blade to blade - to chop your fat into eensy teensy bits. Toss them around in the flour as you cut to coat them in the flour so the bits don't stick to each other. It's only butter, you don't have to use sharp knives. If your fat starts to get mushy, toss the bowl into the fridge for about 10 minutes then come back for it and keep cutting.Why do this at all? It creates a finer more layered texture to the finished product.

Well, enough of that. Let's get to the recipe. I found this recipe on the King Arthur Baking site, then modified it slightly.

Garibaldi Biscuits

1/3 C White Flour

2/3 C Whole Wheat Flour

1 T Powdered Sugar

1 t Baking Powder

1/4 t Salt

6 T cold butter

1 T Frozen OJ Concentrate

4 T Cold Water

1 T Molasses

1/4 t Almond Extract

1 1/2 c Chopped Raisins (or mixed dried fruit)

1 1/2 T Hot Water

Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Chop dried fruit and mix in the hot water. Let it sit. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like crumbly sand. Add molasses, OJ concentrate, almond extract and cold water. Mix until it begins to form a lump. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about a half hour or so. When your dough has become firm, roll it out on a board that is lightly dusted with flour. Make a rough rectangle shape that is about 1/8th of an inch thick. Spread the raisins on half of your rectangle. Is it gonna be pretty? Nope. Are they going to be a little chunky in places? Yep. Fold the un-raisined dough over the raisined dough. Roll it out again ending with a slab that is between 1/8th and 1/4 of an inch thick. Tthe edges are going to be janky. That's totally ok. You can fold those bits up and roll em flat into the rest of your dough. Some raisins may pop through the dough. That's cool, don't sweat it.

Cut the dough into squares or rectangles and toss em on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes.

 

Some notes on this recipe:
Why the OJ Concentrate? It helps develop the flavor of the Whole Wheat Flour.
Why the Molasses? This gives the dough a darker appearance and a touch of sweetness.
Why the Almond extract? I prefer it to vanilla and it gives baked treats a unspecified yumminess.