How to Make Seasoned Chicken Breast in Under 10 Minutes

How to Make Seasoned Chicken Breast in Under 10 Minutes

by | Mar 24, 2022 | Chicken, Dinner, Fast and Focused, Weeknight

Seasoned Chicken on white cutting board

How to Make Seasoned Chicken Breasts in Under 10 Minutes

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. Read my full privacy policy here.

Fast Cooking Can Be Delicious

You’re a busy person and if you’re like me your time and patience can be in limited supply. So simple chicken cooked fast is right up our alley. This simple seasoned chicken breast comes out hot and delicious. It goes with whatever you are in the mood for a salad, wrap, rice, or just by itself.

Panini Press

My secret to cooking it so quickly is to use a panini press that doubles as an indoor grill. It cooks quickly because it heats the top and bottom of the food at the same time.

I cook on mine all the time. Besides chicken breasts and paninis, we also make everything from burgers to kabobs. And they all cook nice and fast.

DeLonghi Panini Press

Above is a picture of my panini press. It’s a DeLonghi (they make more than coffee and espresso machines). I’m not sure if I would recommend it. I will say that cooks super well. It gets five out of five stars on cooking. The tilting top plate is wonderful. It’s just a pain to clean. I’ve gotten faster at it, but cleaning will add 5-10 minutes of drudge work after a meal.

 

When to Make this Recipe

When you want food now. For the kind of hungry where I’m so hungry, I actually want my food to have arrived five minutes ago, but I will settle for this instant.

It’s also great for the middle of a busy day. I’ll make this chicken and eat it on a salad, which is lunch made fresh and eaten in less than 30 minutes. I love hot chicken on a cold salad. Cold chicken doesn’t do it for me.

Detailed Directions

First, I always recommend washing your hands and giving your countertops a quick wipe down. Then take out the panini press, plug it in, and set it to medium.

Sliced apple and rolling pin

As it heats up, start working on your chicken. My panini press makes 2-3 breasts or 5-6 tenderloins at a time. It’s important to choose thinner cuts because of how they cook on the press. The goal is for a nice char on the outside, but tender on the inside.

Seasoned Raw Chicken on White Plate

Sprinkle seasoning on both sides of your chicken. Almost everything goes with chicken from your standard salt and pepper to premade seasoning mixes. I’m currently obsessed with the Southwest seasoning from Target.

Wait for the press to reach temperature. I usually start assembling my salad as I wait for the green light to turn on. Once it reaches medium temperature and your chicken is ready, spray the press with food release and put your chicken in.

Seasoned Chicken Tenderloins on Panini Press

Then turn the knob to high and let cook for 3 minutes. After the 3 minutes at high, turn the knob back to medium and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. This brief high heat will give you nice char marks and crisp the outside, while keeping the inside moist, just like a real grill.

Seasoned Chicken on Cutting Board

Remove your chicken from the press and let it sit for a minute. If you have a thicker piece of meat or you’re just nervous, check your food with a meat thermometer. Then you can slice and enjoy!

Shredded Seasoned Chicken

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Sliced apple and rolling pin
Seasoned Chicken on white cutting board

Seasoned Chicken Breast

This simple seasoned chicken breast goes with whatever you are in the mood for a salad, wrap, rice, or just by itself.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 4 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 1
Calories 228 kcal

Equipment

  • Indoor Grill or Panini Press

Ingredients
  

  • 6 oz Chicken Breast
  • Favorite Seasoning
  • Food Release

Instructions
 

  • Set panini press to medium.
  • Season both sides of chicken breast.
    Seasoned Raw Chicken on White Plate
  • Wait for the press to reach temperature.
  • As soon as you’re ready, turn the press to high and put your chicken in the press.
    Seasoned Chicken Tenderloins on Panini Press
  • Keep on high for 3 minutes. Then turn down to medium and cook for another 3 minutes. If you have a thicker breast, you will need to increase your time at medium.
  • Let chicken rest for one minute. (Optional)
    Seasoned Chicken on Cutting Board
  • Slice and enjoy!
    Shredded Seasoned Chicken
Keyword Chicken, Dinner, Lunch, Weeknight
Zoodles with the Perfect Texture

Zoodles with the Perfect Texture

by | Feb 17, 2022 | Dinner, Fast and Focused, Side, Weeknight

Zoodles with the Perfect Texture

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. Read my full privacy policy here.

Zoodles are a delicious way of transforming my favorite pasta dishes into salad. My brain might know that they are zucchini, and my eyes will see the green on my plate, but my mouth doesn’t care. My method makes them with the perfect al dente texture. They also hold on to sauce a lot like spaghetti, which enhances everything about the taste. I make this every week , and every week it is worth the time.

Notes on Equipment

There are two pieces of specialized equipment you need to make these zoodles. Both are equally important.

Spiralizer

There are two main types of spiralizers. First are the hand variety, where you use some sort of device and your own muscles make the zoodles. You can probably put other veggies and such into your spiralizer, but as of today, I have not. When I was first starting out, before I had my KitchenAid, I got this spiralizer. It worked well and if you are just wanting to try out this sort of kitchen tool it’s a great place to start. I personally found it time-consuming and only used it every month or so.

This brings us to the second type of spiralizer. The type that you attach to an electric stand mixer. If you already own one, then all you need to buy is the spiralizing attachment. I got both my KitchenAid mixer and spiralizer attachment as wedding gifts (thank you!). Now I use them every single week.

Cheesecloth

You can find it in most grocery stores, but I always have to ask where it is. There are a lot of really fancy types of cheesecloth out on the internet for people who are making cheese, for this application all you need is basic cheesecloth. I cut what I need for one meal and throw it out afterward. One pack lasts me several weeks, so don’t be worried about the size.

Instructions

I always start my cooking by washing my hands and wiping down my counters. I strongly recommend you do too. Now wash and cut your zucchini in half, as shown in the photo below. The cutting helps it fit into the spiralizer.

Sliced apple and rolling pin

Then put your cheesecloth in your bowl. Cut enough to cover the inside of the bowl. If your cheesecloth is very flimsy, you might want to double-layer it.

Spiralize your zucchini into your bowl directly onto the cheesecloth. After you have spiralized all of your zucchini thoroughly sprinkle it with salt. The salt will draw the water out of the zucchini. I normally let mine sit for about 5 minutes.

Sliced apple and rolling pin

It will be done when it looks slimy. You might even have a puddle in the bottom of your bowl. If after 5 minutes your zoodles are not slimy, add more salt and wait for 5 more minutes. It takes a generous amount of salt to get the water out. I don’t think it tastes too salty at the end, because a lot of the salt leaves with the water. So don’t worry about over salting.

Sliced apple and rolling pin

After your zoodles are slimy, twist up the cheesecloth and squeeze as much of the water out as you can. Zucchini contains a lot of water, so the total zoodle volume will decrease by about half-ish. Once all the water is out, put zoodles in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes depending on how powerful your microwave is. I usually go for 1.5 minutes. Then immediately serve and eat!

Sliced apple and rolling pin

Recipe Notes

This recipe is for a single serving of zoodles. You can double it easily without much fuss. But you will have problems if you try to make too much at once. Too much can be easily defined as more than one pasta bowl can contain, even when you make a small mountain in the bowl.

If you are making more than two people’s worth of zoodles, I recommend making it in batches. If you try to make too much at once, you won’t be able to squeeze out enough of the water and there is no telling how well the microwave is going to heat it.

Plated Zoodles

Zoodles with the Perfect Texture

My recipe is the best way to cook zoodles for that al dente texture. They also hold on to sauce like spaghetti, which enhances the taste.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 1
Calories 33 kcal

Equipment

  • Spiralizer
  • Cheesecloth
  • Microwave Safe Bowl

Ingredients
  

  • 1-2 Zucchini
  • Salt Kosher salt

Instructions
 

  • Wash zucchini.
  • Cut zucchini in half.
  • Put cheesecloth in a bowl.
  • Spiralize zucchini onto cheesecloth.
  • Thoroughly sprinkle with salt.
  • Let sit until slimy looking (about 5 minutes).
  • Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of zucchini.
  • Microwave for 1-2 minutes.
  • Serve and eat!

Notes

This recipe is for a single serving of zoodles. You can double it easily without much fuss. But you will have problems if you try to make too much at once. Too much can be easily defined as more than one pasta bowl can contain, even when you make a small mountain in the bowl.
If you are making more than two people’s worth of zoodles, I recommend making it in batches. If you try to make too much at once, you won’t be able to squeeze out enough of the water and there is no telling how well the microwave is going to heat it.
Keyword Dinner, Side, Weeknight

Simple Yellow Potatoes

Simple Yellow Potatoes

by | Feb 9, 2022 | Fast and Focused, Side, Weeknight

Simple Roasted Potatoes

Simple Yellow Potatoes

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. Read my full privacy policy here.

My husband and I absolutely love yellow potatoes. This recipe is the extremely simple way we make them every week.

Where to Start

First you need to wash. Starting with your hands and the counter if you haven’t done so already. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Then scrub the potatoes with a clean sponge. I like to eat the skins, both because I like the taste and I think that’s where most of the nutrients are. But potatoes grow in dirt, so they need to be scrubbed. You will most likely seem them change color from before and after scrubbing as you get that final layer of dirt off.

Simple Roasted Potatoes

Next is cutting the potatoes. You can cut you’re in the more traditional chunk shape. We cut ours in the way you see above, because it’s simple and thin enough to cook quickly. With potatoes, it’s important to have some size uniformity. The slices don’t have to be perfect, but when they are similar enough in size they will be cooked through at the same time. Note that thinner pieces cook faster.

Cut pototaoes

Next cover a pan, the size doesn’t really matter, with aluminum foil. I’m a fan of the nonstick. But I always spray with food release, just in case. Then I coat the potatoes in olive oil. If you are going to cook them on a cookie sheet, you might want to toss them in a separate bowl before putting them on the foil. Otherwise, you can just coat them in the pan you will cook them in.

Try to spread them out evenly for even cooking. Once they are spread out, sprinkle on any seasonings you want, but they don’t need much. Salt and pepper are delicious. For something a little spicy, we like to use a combination of black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne.

Simple Roasted Potatoes

Once the oven comes to temperature, put the potatoes in the oven on a middle rack for 15 minutes. Turn the pan 180° and bake for another 15 minutes. The potatoes are fully cooked when they feel soft as you stab them with a fork. Make sure you try a larger and thicker piece. Once soft, they are ready to eat.

 

Simple Oven Roasted Potatoes

This recipe is the extremely simple way my husband and I make roasted potatoes every week.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 2

Equipment

  • 1 Cookie Sheet or other pan
  • Aluminum Foil

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 Yellow Potatoes
  • 0.25 cup Olive Oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Food Release

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 450°F
  • Wash and cut potatoes
    Cut pototaoes
  • Coat in olive oil
  • Cover pan in foil
  • Spray food release
  • Put potatoes on to foil
  • Season to taste
  • Once oven is at temperature, bake on middle rack for 15min
  • Rotate pan and bake for 15 more minutes
  • Eat!
    Simple Roasted Potatoes
Keyword Dinner, Side, Weeknight

Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus

Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus

by | Feb 9, 2022 | Fast and Focused, Side, Weeknight

Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. Read my full privacy policy here.

I absolutely love asparagus. It’s one of my all-time favorite vegetables. I love when it’s so roasted it starts to get soft and brown and almost melts in your mouth. If you like your asparagus more on the raw side, this recipe will still work for you, but you will need to shorten the cooking time.

All the Details

As usual, start with washing your hands and wiping down the counter. Then preheat your oven to 425°F. Next thoroughly wash your asparagus. The big trick to deliciously soft asparagus is how you cut it. But before you start cutting, take a close look at the pictures below.

You can see different smaller cuts along the stalk tried from right to left (I’m right handed) to try to find the right place to cut.

Basically, all you need to do is tap your knife along the stalk and feel the texture change. When the knife sinks in with little to know resistance, you have found the spot.

Everything higher on the stalk with turn tender in the oven. Everything lower will retain a lot more of its fibrous woody texture. I don’t like eating sticks.

After you are done cutting, cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with rood release. Place all the asparagus on the foil.

Then drizzle the olive oil and seasoning on top. Seasoning wise, I generally stick to salt a pepper. Maybe lemon or garlic powder if I’m feeling a little fancy. I shake enough to see sprinkles on every stalk, but not a layer. Mix the stalks around each other to make sure each one is coated. Once the oven reaches temperature, put the asparagus in for 20-30 minutes for desired doneness. Mine were done closer to the 30 minute mark.

Plate and serve with dinner! We like to eat this with everything from chicken to salmon to steak.

Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus

This asparagus is so roasted it starts to get soft and brown and almost melts in your mouth.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 2

Equipment

  • 1 Cookie Sheet
  • Aluminum Foil

Ingredients
  

  • 2.25 lbs Asparagus
  • 0.25 cup Olive Oil
  • Season to taste (salt, pepper, lemon)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Wash asparagus thoroughly.
  • Cut off the hard bottom part of the stalk.
  • Cover cookie sheet in aluminum foil.
  • Coat asparagus in olive oil and seasoning on aluminum foil.
  • Bake for 20-30 min, depending on desired doneness.
  • Serve and eat!
Keyword Dinner, Side, Weeknight

Simple Seasoned Salmon

Simple Seasoned Salmon

by | Jan 31, 2022 | Dinner, Fast and Focused, Weeknight

Simple Seasoned Salmon

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. Read my full privacy policy here.

This recipe is the simplest way to make salmon I know of. It’s how my mom taught me to make it and it’s so simple to her she never bothered to even write it down. My husband and I make this about once a week, while changing up the seasonings to keep things interesting. The best part about this recipe is that you can make it two different ways at the same time with the same amount of effort. So, I can have mine spicy and he can have his blackened. Or I can have mine with lemon pepper and he can have his with garlic and dill. It works.

First you need some salmon filets. I’m only making two, but for more people just buy more filets.  This recipe is easy to scale up. We generally get Atlantic salmon, because I like the taste more than Sockeye salmon, which is oilier.

Before you really get started, I recommend doing the usual washing your hands and wiping down the counter. Then preheat your oven to 425°F with convection. We use a convection toaster oven in our kitchen.  If you don’t have a convection oven, your cooking times could vary significantly.

Then make little aluminum foil boats. I recommend using the non-stick aluminum foil by Reynolds wrap, which is amazing. Next spray the foil with your non-stick spray, just in case. Then season to taste. If the skin is on, I only season the skinless side. If the skin is off, I recommend seasoning both sides.

I know that “season to taste” was absolutely meaningless to me when I started cooking. With salmon, I generally take my seasoning shaker and try to make a light coating all over the top of the filet. You will be able to see the speckles across the surface, but you don’t want a solid layer (unless you want it blackened).

For this example the left filet has salt, black pepper, garlic powder and dill. The right filet has salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne. 

 

There are many seasoning combinations you can try. There are easy ones:

  • Salt, black pepper, garlic powder
  • Premixed blackened seasoning

More customized

  • Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne
  • Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, dill
  • Hot sesame oil, salt, black pepper, brown sugar

After everything is seasoned and the oven has reached temperature, bake for 8-10 min. Two things to keep in mind about when your salmon will be done. Thicker filets, cook slower than thinner ones. So, if one person likes their salmon darker in the center, they should get the thicker filet. I like mine well cooked and flaky as you can see in the image below.

You will get better at knowing if your food is done with practice. If you are trying to achieve both the same doneness level in thick and thin filets that finish cooking simultaneously, you can put the boat with the thicker filet into the oven a few minutes (2-3) before the thin one. This will give that filet the extra time it needs, without messing up dinner.

The second thing to remember is that the CDC recommends cooking fish with fins to 145°F. I always measure the temperature with a meat thermometer, just in case I didn’t thaw the filets completely.

Plate and serve with sides. We normally have yellow potatoes and I’ll have a cucumber as sides. Other easy sides are rice, pasta, green beans, or asparagus. I would love to hear about your favorite seasonings in the comments below. Enjoy!

Simple Salmon

This recipe is the simplest way to make salmon I know of. My husband and I make this about once a week, while changing up the seasonings to keep things interesting. The best part about this recipe is that you can make it two different ways at the same time with the same amount of effort. So, I can have mine spicy and he can have his blackened. Or I can have mine with lemon pepper and he can have his with garlic and dill. It works.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 2 Filets

Equipment

  • 1 Pan
  • 1 Nonstick Aluminum Foil
  • 1 Meat Thermometer

Ingredients
  

  • 2 7 oz Salmon Filets
  • Kosher Salt
  • Seasoning
  • Food Release

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F, convection if available.
  • Make a small aluminum foil boat for each filet.
  • Spray foil with food release.
  • Season each filet to taste.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes, or desired doneness.
  • Eat!
Keyword Dinner, Salmon, Weeknight