Lemon-Paprika Chicken

It’s my husband who is the creative one when it comes to cooking; I follow recipes to the letter while he starts with an idea and then makes things up as he goes along. Interestingly, that’s the same way he builds furniture, too :) I wanted chicken and veggies for dinner tonight, so he made this:

Waxed Paper
Meat Mallet
Six 4-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts (the individually frozen ones are perfect size)
Bottled lemon juice
Lemon Pepper
Black Pepper
Garlic Salt
Olive Oil (OPTIONAL)
Paprika

Preheat oven to Low Broil setting.

Tear off a big sheet of waxed paper and lay out the chicken breasts, leave space in between. Drizzle lemon juice and olive oil (SKIP THIS if you are eating low fat, it won’t change the taste or finished dish) over the top of the chicken, then sprinkle each seasoning equally over each piece. Flip each piece of chicken over and drizzle again with lemon juice, olive oil if you are using it, then sprinkle each piece equally with each seasoning. Cover all the chicken pieces with another big sheet of waxed paper, then pound each piece with the smooth side of a meat mallet until the pieces are evenly flattened.

Place each piece of chicken on the rack of a broiler pan, place a quarter-pat of butter in the middle of each piece (Again, SKIP THIS for low fat diets, mine tasted fine without it). Broil chicken 5-7 minutes until the top is lightly browned, be careful not to let it get overdone. Carefully pull out the pan, flip each piece of chicken with tongs or a spatula, then place under broiler again until the back side is lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. This chicken cooks quickly because it’s boneless/skinless and flattened.

Even without oil and butter, my piece was moist and delicious. The lemon juice gives the chicken a nice tang and the paprika is just a bit smoky. I served the chicken with steamed green beans and McCain’s fries, the Smiley Fries for everybody else and the Sweet Potato Fries for me.

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