Panko Chicken

Since I've been busier lately, I am really feeling dinners that are super simple, quick, and have a tasty payoff. Work wise, this has been a very eventful week for me - I had three job offers in the space of three back-to-back days. Talk about a record, in the greatest possible way! To sum it all up, I ended up taking a gamble and going the least conventional route: starting now, I will be freelancing part-time for an educational publishing company, and part-time for a local wine/tourism marketing company. I should be terrified about my lack of job security and health benefits, but instead I'm just excited!

With the above craziness and my growing workload, I found myself going back to one of my absolute favorite chicken recipes. This panko chicken recipe comes from the cookbook of Susan Brady, my good friend Alex's mother. I received a copy of her cookbook at a Christmas party years ago, and have been making this dish ever since. It takes NO time at all and is incredibly flavorful as a result of the dijon mustard and chopped garlic mixture that it's coated in just before baking. The chicken is cooked on high heat, which means it's typically ready in 20 minutes flat. You can learn how to make the accompanying Rosemary Smashed Potatoes here.

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 per person), cut into tenders
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup panko bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the panko and parmesan until blended.
3. In another medium bowl, mix the garlic, mustard, and melted butter.
4. Slice the chicken to your desired size (I like mine the size of chicken tenders so that they are sure to cook thoroughly). Take one piece at a time and coat it well in the mustard mixture. Then, coat the rounded side of each chicken breast in the panko mixture.
5. Place each chicken piece panko-side up in a rimmed baking dish, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and fully cooked.

I am always amazed at how flavorful and delicious this chicken tastes. It remains moist from the dijon, but also gets nice and crispy from the panko bread crumb coating. Serve it with anything from steamed vegetable to rice - and leftovers and perfect chopped over a salad the next day.