Menu Monday - Skillet Chicken (The EASY Way)

Are you like me....do you despise cooking chicken in your skillet?  The people on the food network make it look so simple.  You would think it's the easiest thing in the world.  Common sense would say all you need to do is heat up your pan, put your chicken in, and cook it up.  BUT common sense is wrong and the food network people are either lying to us or keeping secrets.  I cannot cook delicious chicken in the skillet to save my life.  My dear husband enjoys the chicken, but me...not so much.  First off, it looks like it has been hacked at into an inch of it's life all because of me not being able to tell if it's pink inside or not.  Sometimes it is too dark on the outside, but still pink inside.  I usually resort to cutting each breast in half to try and get it done.  Not to mention, it isn't juicy and I am usually examining every bite I take as I eat it.  I have just quit making chicken in my skillet and gone to baking it or using the George Forman...but seriously, those aren't as convenient as a skillet.  The last thing I want to do at the end of the day is pull out the huge Forman grill or wait 45 minutes to bake my chicken.  All of these frustrations led me to some old fashioned Google searching, and boy, oh boy, did I receive some good information!  (I forget where I read this specific way of cooking chicken, so I cannot give credit...sorry!)

Skillet Chicken (The EASY Way)

1. In saran wrap or a ziploc bag, pound your chicken out until it is even in width throughout.  You can use a mallet if you have one, but if not use whatever heavy kitchen tool you can find...a knife sharpening wand works good...haha!  (Who would have thought to do this to chicken...not me!  I figured you only did this in specific recipes!  This is one of the main things that help chicken to cook evenly in the skillet!)

2. Season your chicken in your desired way.  I usually marinade chicken when I get it home from the store.  I pull the breasts out, put them in a gallon ziploc, pound them to even width, pour in marinade, and stick it in the freezer.  Then I put them in the fridge the night before and they are ready to go the next evening.  The marinade sticks really well when you do this, and it saves time if it is already marinaded when you get home from work and have to figure out dinner.  NO waiting around for a marinade to soak in...in my opinion, even 30 minute marinades take too long when I am trying to get dinner on the table in the evening.

3. Turn your skillet to medium-high (use one that has a lid that goes with it...you will use it later).  When it gets hot, pour in some olive oil and a little butter.  Let it melt, then turn the heat to medium.

4. Put your chicken in your pan (it should be on medium).  Let it sit for a minute or two on one side. 

5. After a minute or so, turn heat to low.  Flip chicken breasts over.  Put lid on skillet and set a timer for 10 minutes.  DO NOT open lid to check on chicken.  You need the steam in there to cook the chicken!

6. After 10 minutes, turn heat off and set timer for another 10 minutes.  Do not open lid at any point! 

7.  After 10 minutes, your chicken should be done!  It will be juicy and delicious!  You might want to do one little cut in your chicken to make sure it is done throughout.  If it isn't, you can turn your heat back on to low and set your timer for another 10 minutes.  Put your lid back on and don't open it!  Thomas didn't like that the chicken wasn't really brown on the outside, so I seared the outside a little on high at this point, but you could do that at the beginning of cooking as well.

This chicken got RAVE reviews from myself and Thomas.  It was so easy and stress free!  The chicken was juicy and DONE!   Let me know if you try this way of cooking chicken on the skillet, and how it works for you!