Simple grilled chicken... inside

Sometimes I want a quick and easy dinner. Last night was one of those nights. Something that I often make at those times is grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I use several different seasonings, depending on what we are in the mood for. Last night I used sea salt, multi-colored peppercorns (my favorite!) and Citris Basil rub that I got from Pampered Chef. Let me tell you, that stuff is worth its weight in gold! It is so good to use on so many things. I have used it on green beans, chicken, pasta... the list goes on and on.

So I have a trick for getting the juiciest chicken boobies that you ever did eat. Step 1 is preheating the oven to 450 degrees. I saw a show on the Food Network once (I don't remember which show) that said when you are cooking chicken without the skin the trick is to cook it quickly before it has a chance to dry out. I then take an oven safe grill pan (I forget which one I have but it's a fancy smanchy one that I got at Bed, Bath and Beyond so if you don't have one check there) and preheat it over medium high heat. Once the pan is screaming hot I sear the chicken on both sides until it is good and golden and then throw it in the oven to finish it. I would say it takes about 7 minutes in the oven... depending on how big the boobies are.

A trick to checking your chicken to see if it is done without cutting it or sticking a meat thermometer in (which would let the juices escape) is to poke it with your finger. If the meat is firm to the touch and bounces back right away then it is done. You will have to experiment several times to get it just right but eventually you will be able to check for the doneness just by poking it. I think this only works on chicken breasts. At least I have only used this trick for chicken breasts.

So that is my rather boring post for the day on how to get the juiciest chicken breasts and how to poke them to tell if they are done.

We are having leftovers tonight so no great updates tomorrow either. Hopefully next week I will be fully back into the swing of things. Believe it or not I am still getting over the cooties that my husband so sweetly shared with me. My energy level is about a one right now.