Chicken breasts serve a wide range of uses

I recently got hold of some whole chicken breasts which were very large. They did not include the tenders, but were still about 2 pounds for the entire boneless breast section. I’ve seen smaller whole birds this size!

I cut it in half and then sliced about 4-ounce-sized pieces off of it, to make it more meal-friendly. Due to the number of slices, I made up a few packages to go into the freezer for later. I was able to trim off any unwanted pieces of fat. So what I have now are boneless and skinless breast, of a sort, just like you might find in the freezer section of the local megamart.

Now what should I do? I could easily chop the chicken into smaller forms, like a dice, for inclusion into noodle dishes, or thinly sliced, for use elsewhere. The first few I’ll just cook up whole and make them into sandwich meat.

I heated my oven to 425 degrees and placed in it a 9x13 baking dish with a small knob of butter. When the oven and pan were hot, I pulled the pan out and placed in my chicken slices. You could do this with regular boneless skinless breasts too. I then gently seasoned them with salt and pepper. I put the pan back into the oven and baked until nearly cooked through, to about 160 degrees when checked with an instant-read thermometer stuck into the thickest part. I then removed the pan from the oven and set it to broil on high. I moved the baking rack to second from highest position. When broiler was hot, I placed the chicken in the pan back in the oven to lightly brown, which also brought the temperature up to 165 degrees or so. You could eat them right away, or let them cool slightly before placing onto a sandwich, or cutting up for further use.

CHICKEN CHEESE STEAK

4 ounces chicken breast, cut into strips

1 ounce chopped peppers

1/8 cup chopped onion

Mayonnaise

1 hoagie bun

2 slices Swiss cheese

In a frying pan, sauté seasoned chicken with peppers and onion until chicken is cooked through. Set aside. Split open the hoagie and spread with mayo on both sides. Place the Swiss on one half of the hoagie. Place cooked chicken on other half of hoagie. Place top on cooked meat. Serve.

GARDEN CHICKEN SANDWICH

4 ounces chicken breast

2 slices rye bread

Mayonnaise

Honey mustard dressing

1 slice Monterey jack cheese

2 slices of bacon

1 slice tomato

1 slice onion

2 slices avocado

1 leaf romaine lettuce

Alfalfa sprouts

Grill one chicken breast until cooked through. Set aside. Take the rye bread slices and place mayo on one slice and honey mustard on the other slice. Place on one slice the cheese, bacon, tomato, onion, avocado, romaine, and sprouts. Top with the cooked chicken and place the other slice of bread on top. Serve.

BLUE CHEESE CHICKEN SANDWICH

4 ounces chicken breast

Frank’s Red Hot sauce

1 Kaiser roll

Blue cheese crumbles

1/4 cup coleslaw

1 slice onion

1 slice tomato

Grill chicken breast until cooked through. Coat with Red Hot sauce. Split open the Kaiser roll and set chicken on one half of the roll. Top with blue cheese crumbles, coleslaw, onion and tomato. Serve.

CHICKEN QUESADILLAS

4 ounces sliced chicken, cut into slices

1/4 cup sliced peppers

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 flour tortilla

2 tablespoons bacon bits

2 slices Monterey jack cheese

1/4 cup salsa

1/4 cup sour cream

In a frying pan, sauté chicken with peppers and onions until cooked through. Open up one tortilla and place cooked chicken onto one half of tortilla. Sprinkle on bacon and cheese. Fold tortilla over ingredients then heat and flip over to heat the other side. Serve with salsa and sour cream on side.

CHICKEN CLUB

1 gourmet hamburger bun

Mayonnaise

4 ounces cooked chicken breast

2 slices ham

3 slices cooked bacon

1 leaf romaine lettuce

1 slice tomato

2 slices Provolone cheese

Toast bun until golden. Spread mayo on both slices when cooled slightly. On one side, place chicken, ham, bacon, romaine, tomato and Provolone. Top with remaining side of bun. Wrap and serve.

SPINACH ARTICHOKE AND CHICKEN PANINI

4 ounces cooked chicken breast, cut into strips

1/4 cup marinated artichokes, chopped

2 tablespoons shredded Parmiggiano-Reggianno cheese

1 square of focaccia

2 slices fresh mozzarella

6 to 8 spinach leaves

In a frying pan, sauté chicken with artichokes until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in Parmiggiano. Split focaccia in half. On one half place chicken, mozzarella, and spinach leaves. Grill in a Panini press or in a covered frying pan, flipping over when bottom is lightly browned.

CHICKEN TACOS

4 ounces seasoned diced chicken

2 tortilla shells

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

2 slices tomato, diced

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup salsa

In a frying pan, sauté chicken until heated through. Set 2 taco shells up and fill with cooked chicken. Top with cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Serve with sour cream and salsa on the side. Wrap and serve.