What's For Dinner

Pan Seared Chicken Breast

Today what's for dinner is whatever a ten year old can easily be tutored from the couch.  It has been seven days since my foot surgery and I am slowly getting better.  I still can not stand for very long hence the ten year old making dinner.  Unfortunately for him he is the oldest one home and mom is hungry.

After looking in the fridge he decided chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans and maybe strawberries.  He has NEVER cooked meat or poultry of any kind.  There is a first for everything.  A method that works well for cooking chicken breast is pan searing the meat then baking.

Pan Seared Chicken Breast

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  If I have any garlic powder that I made from my garlic in my garden I will also sprinkle each chicken breast with that.  In a cast iron skillet heat (or a skillet that can be put in the oven) 1 to 2 TBSP of olive oil on high heat.  Brown or sear each side of the chicken.   Add low sodium chicken broth so it covers the bottom of the pan.  Put the lid on the pan and put in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 25 min.  Check internal temp to make sure that meat is cooked.  Let the meat rest in the pan for 10 min before serving.


The chicken was very moist and the ten year old is feeling pretty competent with his first foray into cooking poultry.  The rest of the dinner was pretty simple.   Idahoan instant mashed potatoes, turkey gravy from a package, and a bottle of green beans that we canned last summer.

I caution using prepackaged mixes if you have allergies.  To often they have filler items to prevent caking or aging or just for bulk.  I also noticed that they generally refer to spices and do not always list exactly what they are.  READ the LABEL.  I remember when I was first diagnosed with allergies that it was so discouraging to read the labels and see that most mixes did not work for me.  So, now when I find one that works I will buy several to have on hand for days that we need a quick meal.  In the next couple of months I am going to take a class on making my own mixes to have on hand.