Teri's "That's Italian" Chicken

That's Amore!

My dear friend, Teri, introduced our family to this yummy recipe a couple of years ago. We loved it then and we still love it today. Actually, Rachel is making it for dinner tonight! Besides having great flavor, this is a super easy recipe that can be made quickly.

When Teri made it for dinner, she used IQF chicken tenders. And she didn't even thaw them. She just popped them in the skillet. I have made this recipe the same way, but I probably use it more often with fresh chicken breasts (whenever they're on sale). To save a little bit of time on the cooking end, I place the chicken breast inside a Ziploc bag and use a meat mallet to flatten out the meat until it's about the thickness of a pencil. This creates a larger cooking surface and an opportunity for the Italian flavor to be well represented in every bite. Oh, yum!

Teri's "That's Italian" Chicken

What you will need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds), flattened
1 bottle of your favorite Italian dressing*

Place a large non-stick skillet on high heat; pour just enough Italian dressing in the bottom of the skillet to cover the bottom. Place chicken breasts in the skillet and then pour additional Italian dressing on top of each piece of chicken, just enough to coat the top of the meat. After the Italian dressing comes to a boil, turn heat down to medium and check the underside of the chicken to see if it's caramelizing and turning brown (about five minutes). Carefully turn each piece of meat over and continue to cook until the other side is caramelized (3 to 5 minutes).

If you use whole chicken breasts that have not been flattened, follow the same instructions except pour enough Italian dressing in the skillet so it comes up the side of the meat about half way. It will take quite a bit longer to cook this way. Regardless, don't place a lid on the skillet. Evaporating the Italian dressing is what gives the meat that wonderful flavor. Juices should run clear when thoroughly cooked.

*Note: We often use Good Seasons Italian Dressing packets instead of bottled Italian dressing. It allows us to cut down on the amount of oil that's used in the dressing.

Enjoy!


P.S. Teri, I don't know what you originally called this recipe, but I had to give it some kind of name other than "Teri's Chicken." If you have something else in mind, you just let me know!