Wondering what else you can do with the chicken breast sitting in your freezer? Are you looking for something different to make an otherwise bland white meat interesting and flavourful?
As promised, I would cook new recipes to share with you, and you get to see if you’d like it, too.
This was one of the popular posts by Nagi of RecipeTinEats — the Oven Baked Chicken Breast recipe. And I served it with a side of Butter Garlic Rice with Kale. I found both recipes on her website.
What was the big deal with this baked chicken breast? It was the simple yet interesting mix of seasoning – brown sugar, paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper, which made the chicken savoury with a hint of sweetness to it.
It was important to bake the chicken within the recommended time to make sure it’s juicy, too.
Baked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, 150 - 180 grams each If chicken is bigger, slice it in half horizontally to make 2 thin ones, no need to pound.
- 2 tsp olive oil
Chicken Seasoning
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C (200°C fan).
- Pound the chicken slices to 1.5cm at the thickest part.
- Mix the seasoning.
- Line tray with foil and baking paper. Place the chicken upside down on tray and drizzle with 1 tsp oil. Rub over with fingers then sprinkle with seasoning.
- Flip the chicken and rub with 1 tsp oil using fingers. Then sprinkle with seasoning.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until surface is golden. (Make sure not to overbake the chicken or it will become tough).
- Remove from the oven and transfer the chicken to serving plates.
- Rest the chicken for 3 - 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if you like. Enjoy!
How about the butter garlic rice with kale? Really, kale? This was my first time, too, but I assure you it did not taste weird or anything like that.
There was a trick to make the kale tastier and softer, and that was to marinate it first. I drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled a bit of salt, gave it a good massage for 30 seconds before I stirred it through the rice. The wonderful Nagi was right about this trick.
Also, the rice should have that lovely chopped almonds, but I omitted it because of my daughter’s aversion to any kind of nuts. But please, add it for your ultimate enjoyment.
And, if you’re in the mood, why not plate these two dishes beautifully, and enjoy a restaurant-quality food at home. Give it a try?
Garlic Butter Rice with Kale
Ingredients
Marinated Kale
- 7 cups kale sliced leaves, packed tightly
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Garlic Butter Rice
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
- 3-4 large garlic cloves , minced
- 1 ½ cups uncooked white rice (short, medium, or long grain)
- 2 ¼ cups chicken broth or vegetable
Dressing
- 1 - 2 tbsp (15-30g) butter
- ⅓ cup chopped almonds, or your choice of nuts
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place sliced kale leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Scrunch with hands for 30 seconds, set aside while rice cooks.
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute until it starts to turn golden and fragrant.
- Add rice, stir for a few seconds.
- Add broth, stir, then cover.
- Turn heat down to medium low so the liquid is simmering very gently. Cook for 12 - 15 mins until all liquid is absorbed, tilt pot to check.
- Quickly toss all the kale on top of the rice, put the lid back on then remove from heat.
- Rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff rice with fork, stirring kale through.
- Stir through extra butter and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle nuts over rice (or stir nuts through rice). Serve.