How To Make Big Dan’s Baked Chicken

Everyone is trying to save a buck these days and I’m sure you’re no different. Here at the BDR Estate, we’re trying to not only save a buck but eat healthy as well. One does not always make the other easier to do.

So, how do we accomplish this feat when it comes to our daily lunches? How do we avoid the temptation of quick and cheap fast food lunches while spending minimal coin and providing maximum nutrition?

The answer is that we try and make a hearty protein that we can batch into different meals relatively easy.

Enter Big Dan’s Baked Chicken recipe.

This recipe is incredibly easy to follow and provides you with enough chicken to last the entire week. Once you’ve made the chicken, the options you have at your disposal are endless: throw it in a sandwich, chop it up with rice and beans in a burrito, eat it as-is with a side or – my personal favorite – cut it into strips and throw it on a salad.

All cost-conscious AND healthy options. Let’s get rolling here:

Ingredients

• Family Pack of Chicken Breast
• Olive Oil
• Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sprigs of Thyme

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425^oF.
2. Rinse the chicken breast and pat dry. Trim the fat off as required.
3. Liberally cover the bottom of a Pyrex casserole pan with olive oil.
4. Place all the chicken breasts in the pan and coat with olive oil.
5. Dust the chicken breasts with the paprika, salt and pepper.Press dry ingredients into each piece of chicken.
6. Flip the chicken breasts and apply the paprika, salt and pepper. Press dry ingredients into each piece of chicken.
7. Flip the chicken breasts so that the meaty side is facing up and place a sprig of thyme on each one.
8. Place the pan into the oven and let cook for 30-40 minutes until the internal temperature of the largest one reads 160^oF.
9. Remove the pan from the oven, dispose of the thyme sprigs and place the chicken breasts between two layers of paper towels. Allow to cool.
10. Refrigerate and use as desired.

The key to this entire dish is allowing the chicken breast to dry between the paper towels. This step absorbs any of the residual oils from the cooking and will enable the chicken to last longer in a refrigerated state. If you don’t do this step, you will end up with slimy chicken in a much, much shorter time frame.

Tweaks

Your imagination is the only limit on this recipe.

I’ve used a cumin and lime spice mixture, a more Asian influenced marinade (soy sauce, ginger and some spices) or an Italian-inspired spice blend (oregano, basil, parsley). Play with the recipe and see what works for you.

The bottom line is that this recipe is a quick and inexpensive way to make a good amount of protein to feed the family for the week. You’ll stop wasting your money on lunches in no time!

Did you try this recipe? Tell me about it in the comments or on my Facebook Page!