One of the reasons I don't always get around to doing crafts every night is that I'm trying to teach myself more about cooking. I was a big fan of super fast meals using very few ingredients, but I've found those usually turn out pretty terrible. So now I try to make quickish meals with not a ton of ingredients, it's all about compromise. Luckily Martha (that is Martha Stewart, the holy God of crafting and all things handmade) always has really yummy recipes online that are quick, healthy and don't require a four hour grocery store trip.
I chose the panko and parmesan crusted chicken with brussel sprouts, you can check out the original recipe here.
First step, turn the oven onto 450 degrees. Mix 1/3 cup parmesan and 1/3 cup panko. Panko is this wonderful crunchy Asian breadcrumb dealy, super good and healthier than the regular breadcrumbs. I just got a can of it. Pretty psyched. For the parmesan I used shaky cheese like you use on spaghetti, turned out pretty normal.
Weirdly, this mix actually smelled really good. I had to stop
myself from just sneakily eating a handful...
Place about a pound and a half of chicken in a 9" x 13" casserole dish, toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon of thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
Nothing weirder looking than raw chicken.
Looks way better with these fragrant crumbs all over it.
While the oven is still heating up, prepare the brussel sprouts. Cut just the tip of the bottom of the sprout off and take a couple outer leaves off too. This sounds really tedious since they're so small, but it goes by really fast. Then rinse them out and dry em off a little bit.
My Grammy's strainer, hot right?
I omitted the mushrooms because I didn't feel like buying mushrooms, but plain ole brussel sprouts are pretty awesome all by their lonesome. After rinsing toss them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss for a few minutes to make sure they're all covered in that oily goodness.
Why do things instantly look insanely delicious when
they're covered in olive oil, salt and pepper?
Spread them out on a lined baking sheet. Feel free to sprinkle with some more salt and pepper.
Profesh.
Martha says to make sure your oven racks are placed at the bottom third and top third of the oven. And when Martha says where to place your oven racks, you better listen.
Pop the chicken in the upper rack, sprouts in the lower and check on them after 15 minutes. Poke the sprouts with a fork and if the fork slides through easily then they're done. Cut a small slit in the chicken and take a gander in there, if it looks not at all pink but a creamy white and the juices of the chicken run clear, that sucker's done.
Glorious, love when veggies are a little singed.
The whole process only took about 30-40 minutes, super fast. It also tasted great, and I'm no whiz in the kitchen. I think that if I can pull this off, most people with an oven and general sense of the English language can too.
Action shot.
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