Wednesday Dinner - Baked Chicken with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Last night I didn't have a meal planned - our trip to Houston almost two weeks ago somehow messed up our schedules and we haven't had a chance to make menus or get to the store. So, we had to make do with what we had in the fridge and freezer. Trey made himself a calamari pasta. I don't really like the idea of un-fried calamari so I defrosted a chicken breast (in a plastic bag set in room temperature water for about an hour). I pulled some asparagus from the fridge (a staple) and made myself a garlicky baked chicken breast which I then topped with sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese.

Trey's brother made this chicken for us once at their lake house in McQueeny, Texas and we make it all the time now. It's super easy and, if you LOVE goat cheese like I do, delicious.



Baked Chicken (feeds one)
1 chicken breast
2 garlic cloves (husks on, slightly crushed)
Olive Oil

Salt
Pepper
Handful sun dried tomatoes

Couple of ounces goat cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put the chicken in an oven proof dish and cover both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Throw garlic cloves in the dish and bake for about 30 minutes or until an instant read thermometer says 180. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Top chicken with roasted garlic cloves, goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes (Trey's Mom used to get us the most amazing sun dried tomatoes I've ever eaten from Tuscany. They were like candy. We need to find out where she gets them and order some. In the meantime we are using some from a bag that we found in the produce section at Fred Meyer - I tossed these in with the asparagus as I was sauteeing to get a nice caramelization on them).


Asparagus

As you've probably already noticed asparagus is our go-to veggie. We have three ways of preparing it; grilling, baking and sauteeing. Grilling is my favorite, but here in Oregon sometimes rain gets in the way. So last night I opted for the sauteed method, it's quick (around 5 minutes) and gets the nice caramelization I'm looking for.

Asparagus (ends removed)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, pour in about 2 TBS of olive oil (about 2 times around the pan). Let the oil heat up, about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Add asparagus (for this recipe, I also tossed in the sun dried tomatoes to let them caramelize a bit as well) and sautee for about 5-7 minutes, until there are brown spots of caramelization all over the spears.

Remove from sautee pan and let drain on paper towels. Serve immediately. Top with goat cheese, if desired.

Bon appetit!