All my “wife life” (since I’ve been cooking), I always thought baking chicken was sprinkling some spice on, setting the oven to 350 degrees and let it go for an hour. That was, until I stumbled across a recipe once that said differently, and it changed my life. Well, it changed my baked chicken life for the BETTER! Other than several hours of a sous vide chicken cook, THIS works best for a juicy, flavorful piece of chicken! Breasts are a lean cut, so they will dry out on you quick and in a hurry. Since I’ve been doing my chicken this way, I have not had that problem. This is a perfect week night meal paired with a salad or some veggies because not only is it delicious, but it’s quick!

What you’ll need:

• Chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• Italian dressing seasoning. (Sometimes I swap this out with Cajun seasoning or Taco Seasoning depending on what type of flavors I’m going for)
• Salt
• Pepper

Step by step:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line your pan of choice with some foil just to make clean up easier. Lay out the chicken breasts on the pan and use a mallet with the smooth side to pound out the breasts. You want the breast to be the same thickness across the breast. This does a few things: it helps it to cook evenly, and it will make the breast juicier.

Next you’re going to sprinkle olive oil over the breasts. Both sides.

Now, sprinkle both sides with Italian dressing seasoning, salt and pepper.

Cook at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. These were thicker breasts, so I did 35 minutes and they were perfect. When I do chicken strips or thinner breasts, 25-30 minutes is plenty. When they are done baking, take them out and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. When ready to serve, pour pan drippings over the breasts.