Generalized chicken

I'm a fan of foods that have multiple uses. You can eat rice straight up, throw some chicken on it, put it in a burrito, make it into a casserole or any number of other things. I like rice. Chicken can do this, too. You can have one way of producing chicken that goes well in a salad, on pasta, in a sandwich, etc. It isn't even that tough to do.

Start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can get a raft of them anywhere. Your mechanic probably sells them. Just find a good brand and go with it. The super cheap stuff can tend to have a nasty texture, so I'd avoid anything too far to the low end of the spectrum. I tend to use two of these at a go, but you can do as many as you want.

You need some kind of olive oil or some nonstick spray. Not a ton, just enough to keep your chicken from becoming cobblestones on your cookware, savvy?

Seasonings are up to you, but I've found something that works well for us. Garlic powder (again, real garlic works if you're not super lazy), some of that green leafy stuff in the jar marked "Italian Seasonings" and a few other optional goodies. I have taken to throwing some Italian breadcrumbs and grated (the powder stuff in the can) Parmesan cheese onto this chicken while it's in the pan. You get a little bit of tasty goodness sticking to it. Not enough to require you to dip stuff in egg or anything, just a little bit of crispy stuck to the chicken. This is optional, like I said, so feel free to leave it out.

Your hardware is a sharp knife, a cutting board, a stainless pan with a lid and a metal turner. Why specifically metal? Because while you're cooking, you want to be able to break up any pieces that are sticking together without having to spend 20 minutes on it, and you can also use the metal turner to cut through some chicken pieces to make sure everything's done. This is also why you need a stainless pan. You try that trick with a non-stick skillet or something and you'll end up with a shiny spiro-graph in the bottom of it by the time your chicken's done.

Okay, now for the cooking bit. Spray down your pan. Not a ton, just a little bit in the bottom. Now cut up your chicken. Weird, right? Everyone cooks chicken in full breast format and then cuts it up afterward. Why? You get to the same place, but you get there faster, and with flavor on all sides of your chicken bits if you cut it up first. It's not like you're cooking your chicken medium rare or something. So cut it up into nice little bite-sized chunks. Drop them in the pan and turn the heat up to somewhere in the neighborhood of medium. Shake on some goodness. You don't need a lot, but you'll want enough to get a fair bit on each piece once you get it moving around. So get that in there, turn your chicken pieces over, then hit 'em again. Now they've got delicious crunchies and seasonings all around them, and you're ready to slap the lid on.

I have learned through trial and error that cooking chicken with the lid on wins. Cooking with the lid off, you're in a constant battle to keep the moisture in your chicken so by the time it's done, it's probably not anything you'd want to eat anyway. Keeping the lid on makes the chicken cook faster and it stays really moist and juicy all the way through. Delicious!

Let it sit until you've got white cooked chicken on the bottom and starting to creep up the sides. Turn it all over, now. Chances are good it'll be sticking together pretty well because of the breadcrumbs and the olive oil, but you can break it up once it's turned over. Pop the lid back on. Let it sit a few more minutes, then cut up the biggest piece of chicken you can find with your metal turner. If it's done, you can be pretty sure the rest of the smaller pieces are done, too.

Now you can take it off the heat and move it onto whatever you want. The wife and I really like it on a mixture of Romaine and Spinach with croutons and Caesar dressing. When we have some left over, we'll put it onto pasta with either a white or red sauce. It's really versatile, though. the flavor is good but subtle enough to let it ride with a lot of other things. I'd totally drop it onto some bread and make a little chicken salad sandwich. Cut the pieces smaller and mix it into a dip I'll be teaching you how to make in a little bit. I've also made chicken like this and then put it into a casserole with rotini noodles, broccoli and cheese, with some panko on top. Really, you have a lot of options. I wouldn't mix it with any flavors that are violently different, like soy sauce or something, but it might still be good.

So there you go. Nice easy chicken that goes well with lots of stuff and is easy enough to make most any time you want. Enjoy!