Chelsey's Kitchen Adventures

Sometime last year, Bryan and I decided we were going to try making a new recipe every week for Sunday dinner. I'll admit it -- I really like to cook. It's the most domestic thing I do. I don't know that I have any particular talent, but I find it relaxing and a great way to get my mind off whatever is stressing me out at that moment. We were moderately successful at making a new recipe every week for the first little while, but then we started to slack. I'm hoping to get back on track this year and blogging about the experience. Plus, it's a fabulous excuse to indulge in my all-time favorite activity: eating. And yes, Bryan helps make Sunday dinner.

A couple of Sundays ago, we decided to make something new, and I came across this recipe.

Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken
3/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter with the garlic in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Stir the breadcrumbs together with the Parmesan cheese, thyme, basil, oregano, pepper, and salt in a bowl.
4. Dip the chicken breasts in the butter, then press into the seasoned bread crumbs.
5. Place the chicken into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 50 to 55 minutes.

A few tips on this recipe. First, we cut the recipe in half, and the seasoning was plenty for four average-size chicken breasts. In fact, there was still some of the seasoned bread crumb mixture even after all the breasts were coated, so we put the remainder on top. That was a mistake. It didn't ruin it by any means, but it was a little too much. Also, I don't really think fresh herbs are worth the hassle, so I always use dried. It was still delicious. We started with frozen chicken, so we had to cook it about 20 minutes longer, but it still worked beautifully.

We're snowed in this weekend, so I'm planning on an old standby for dinner tomorrow, but hopefully I will have new and exciting recipes to share in the coming weeks.