11 Ways to Cook Your Goose….er Chicken: Day Five

This whole '11 Days of Chicken' thing is much harder than I thought it would be. Just shows to go ya how very sick of chicken, and food, I am, in general. While others think that fusion cooking is some spectacular, Foodie-Heaven creation, in this house, it happens on a regular basis, mainly due to lack of organization and planning. You go with what you've got and what sounds good....who cares about keeping a theme. So, having chicken that I needed to use last night, this is what I came up with. Pretty simple, yet fairly tasty and completely confused.

Confusion Chicken

Ingredients

• Two chicken breasts, trimmed and otherwise removed of all fats and gross bits
• 2 tbs olive oil
• Chicken rub (brand of your choosing)
• Wishbone Salad Spritzers-Balsamic Breeze
• Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Teryaki Marinade (or other brand of your choosing)

Kitchen Tools

• Meat mallet/tenderizer/hammer
• Kitchen Scissors
• Cutting board
• Plastic wrap
• Large skillet
• Baking sheet or pie pan
• Spatula

Confusing Your Chicken

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
• Cover cutting board with plastic wrap, set chicken boobs on board, then cover them with additional plastic wrap
• Beat the meat. Yes I said that. Beat it, till the boobs are flattened to approximately 1/2 inch in thickness
• Uncover the chicken and discard the top layer of wrap. 
• Add olive oil to skillet and heat on medium-high (7-8 on my stove) 
• Sprinkle chicken rub generously over the top side of each boob, feel free to actually RUB it in, if you wish
• Spritz the top sides with Salad Spritzer, about 5-6 sprays for each piece. 
• Pour on a small amount of honey teryaki marinade, about 1 tbs for each piece then gently rub it around, to coat the side.  
• Place the chicken in the skillet, seasoned side down
• Repeat the seasoning process to the naked sides once they are in the skillet. 
• Cook approximately 4 minutes per side, until the sauce starts to carmelize and even burn a bit....(adds  even more flavor!) 
• Place cooked chicken on baking sheet or pie pan and place in oven to finish cooking through, about 10-15 minutes

I served it with this funky quinoa concoction (Ginger Sesame, I believe) and some sauteed zucchini and red peppers.  I tossed some chicken broth in the skillet, loosened up all the burnt/cooked marinade, dumped it out, then added the veggies and sauteed for about 10 minutes on medium, till they were completely cooked through. Add some Insa-LITE-a Caprese, and you've got a meal. 

This meal, to be precise: 

To be honest, I'm not too impressed with quinoa thus far in the game.  This is the second time I've tried a quinoa product, and perhaps I'm not cooking it right, but it just seems to feel funky in the mouth. The flavor itself, not so bad, just the texture, like it's not cooked properly. I'm not a big fan of 'al dente' texture...I like things, like rice, pasta, etc., to be just a hint past 'al dente' about right before overcooked and squishy. The next time, and last time if it turns out shitty again, I try quinoa, it will be completely plain, fresh, no added flavors or other grains.....and then we'll see if it's me or the quinoa. 

If your a quinoa expert, please do share your secrets!