Anonymous wrote:pounding the chicken with a tenderizer is a good place to start.

one prep - preheat the oven to 350-375 and lightly coat both sides of the chicken breast with panko or italian breadcrumbs and sprinkle a little tony chacheres. place on a cookie sheet or in an oven safe pan thats been pam'd or wiped with olive oil. voila. its baked, not fried and its quite tasty.

if you dont have time to pound it out, then thinly slice the chicken and cook in some evoo with salt and pepper and add to a stir fry, pasta or fajitas. sauce can hide the creepyness of thick chicken.

fwiw, i noticed that my chicken also started tasting better when i bought it fresh or organic and not from costco.

Rachel, is that you?

pounding the chicken with a tenderizer is a good place to start.

one prep - preheat the oven to 350-375 and lightly coat both sides of the chicken breast with panko or italian breadcrumbs and sprinkle a little tony chacheres. place on a cookie sheet or in an oven safe pan thats been pam'd or wiped with olive oil. voila. its baked, not fried and its quite tasty.

if you dont have time to pound it out, then thinly slice the chicken and cook in some evoo with salt and pepper and add to a stir fry, pasta or fajitas. sauce can hide the creepyness of thick chicken.

fwiw, i noticed that my chicken also started tasting better when i bought it fresh or organic and not from costco.

This is so easy and they are really tender and flavorful:

spray a small low-sided baking pan with PAM
Use boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz or halve them if they are big)
salt and pepper on both sides, place in baking dish
sprinkle with chopped fresh rosemary and lemon juice
plut 1/4 to 1/3 c. chicken stock in pan around them

Bake at 400 for 30 - 35 minutes

If you are on weight watchers, note that this is one point plus per ounce -- no added fat!

cook them in your Crock Pot!

http://crockpotgirls.com/recipes/main-dishes/chicken/

I like to cook chicken legs, they have a lot more flavor and the kids love to eat them. I brown them in a pan, then cover with bbq sauce and let simmer for an hour, turning once.

here is 21

http://www.saveur.com/gallery/Our-Favorite-Chicken-Recipes/1

With our glass top electric stove I almost always crank it higher than the recipe calls for. If it says medium-high, I turn it up all the way. Pre-heating the pans helps too. I don't use any nonstick cookware, just stainless.

OP here. Thanks for all the suggestions pps!

I definitely need to get the meat tenderizer and keep forgetting to pick one up. I prefer thinner, less juicy breasts and love grilled chicken but we have no grill in a condo.

When I was watching food network, Ina Garten actually mentioned the "flour" idea with chicken so I will try that.

We bought an amazing stainless steal saute pan but the damn oven tops (electric) never get hot enough to cook the chicken nicely...its either undercooked or burnt on the outside.

We also have a great cast iron and grill pan...still does not cook well on the stove top.

Anyone have an electric stove top (flat kind) that cooks chicken on top? What temp do you use?

Does it stop the outside of the chicken from getting hard?

The flour helps hold in the juices, kind of allows the outside to be seared, so the juices get locked in. It also helps create a thicker sauce if you're adding broth, wine or whatever to the pan.

What does the flour do?

I do mine in a cast iron frypan on top of the stove.

Make sure the meat is thoroughly defrosted.

Heat the pan until a drop of water dances off the metal. Pat the chicken dry, then apply a thin coating of flour (just enough flour to stick to the meat; shake off any excess. Less than a tablespoon per breast).

Put the chicken in the pan. Leave for 6-7 minutes. Turn the breasts when they are cooked half way through (you will know by looking at the sides; the white cooked part will be half way up the side). Cook 6-7 minutes on the other side. Remove from the pan and let sit for 5 minutes.

They are very flavorful and not at all dry when you cook them like this.

Lesson number one....get a meat tenderizer and pound them so that they are uniform in their thickness. When we started "beating the meat", the chicken became a lot more tender and tasty.

One easy recipe of spices that I enjoy is brushing with light olive oil, then adding salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. It's simple and always turns out good.

I like to split them down the middle so they're thin. I don't like thick, chewy ones- unless they're in the BBQ. Otherwise, I like to make them thin, put breadcrumbs on them, and cook them in a pan on top of the stove. Put a little oil in the pan. You can either eat them like this or put tomato sauce and mozzarella on top for some chicken parmagiana.

I do one of the following before putting them in the oven at 350 for approx. 45 minutes:
a. smother them with mustard
b. smother them with bbq sauce
c. season with olive oil spray, italian spices and capers

I am great with cooking steaks, ground beef, for quick meals during the week but I am terrible with chicken!

Can anyone give me some good chicken breast recipes that that are under an hour in the even or cooked on top of the stove? The other issue is we do not have a gas stove so our burners do not get really hot and I think I need to start slicing the breasts for stove top cooking.

I am terrible with seasoning them and making them taste good. Please help!

Thanks!