CK's Kitchen: Parmesan crusted chicken sheet pan dinner exceeds expectations

I let my boyfriend choose the menu for our solo Sunday dinner and he easily chose this Parmesan crusted chicken over sirloin steak and potatoes with roasted onions, which would have been my first choice. Hmm, why did I let him choose in the first place, questioned my inner voice revealing an obvious ambivalence toward this type of poultry. Lean and low calorie, versatile and easy to cook (and overcook), chicken inexplicably failed to have much allure or promise anymore. I once loved it, perhaps ran it into the ground and now rarely have a taste for it. But! Being the gracious girlfriend that I'm sometimes capable of being, I prepared to make the best of our sheet pan meal despite my secretly low expectations. One pan, one bowl After firing up the oven, I sliced up my 2 pounds of red potatoes, tossed in Parmesan, garlic and olive oil and tucked them into the oven to cook for a good 20 minutes. That gave me time to toss the chicken in the same bowl, coating it with cheese, seasoned breadcrumbs, garlic and oil. Yum! After reading the recipe writer's comments, I decided to split the ingredients over two parchment-covered sheet pans so they had room to cook rather than crowd it all on one pan. I rinsed the bowl well and then added the already-trimmed green beans, garlic, olive oil and tossed with more Parmesan cheese. When the timer went off, I rotated the potatoes on the pan so they could brown on all sides, and slid the second sheet pan with the well-coated chicken and green beans in for all of it to cook for 25 minutes. Super easy! Clean plate While our dinner roasted in the oven, I enjoyed a healthy pour of Riesling and cleaned up the one cutting board, bowl and measuring spoons, while I directed my guy on where to put all the things away in my fridge. Not that I'm the controlling type, but everyone has a way they do things; we've accepted that and actually find humor in it. I used my handy meat thermometer after 25 minutes and at that point, the thickest part of the chicken registered 155 degrees, slightly under the recommended 165, so I cooked it for another few minutes. At that point, the crusted chicken was a deep golden brown, the garlic green beans were well cooked and the potatoes were nice and crispy, just how I like them! I've learned to easily admit when I'm wrong and boy was I wrong about this recipe. Two enthusiastic forks up for this one! The chicken was just the perfect doneness, really, and the coating was yummy and abundant. In fact, he said he could eat this Parmesan-crusted chicken three times a week! The green beans were phenomenal as well. The potatoes needed salt but that was my fault because I forgot to season them. He was distracting me, what can I say?! The takeaway: Make this dish — even if you're on the fence, it's sure to wow you! Contact Chrissy Kadleck at ckadleck@sbcglobal.net. Parmesan crusted chicken sheet pan dinner For the chicken: 1 ½ pounds chicken breast (about 3-4 pieces) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/3 cup grated Parmesan 1/3 cup breadcrumbs ½ teaspoon cracked pepper 1/2- 3/4 teaspoon salt For the potatoes: 2 pounds red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (if small quartered, larger potatoes will be cut into 6ths or 8ths even) 1-2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Salt and pepper to taste For the green beans: 1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed 1 tablespoons olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tablespoon Parmesan (optional) Salt and pepper to taste 1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 2. Line a sheet pan with parchment for easier cleaning or spray with cooking oil. In a medium bowl, toss all ingredients for potatoes together and stir well to evenly coat. Spread the potatoes on ⅓ of the pan and place in oven for about 10-15 minutes. (If you like your potatoes nice and browned, go with the extra five minutes.) 3. While potatoes are cooking, toss all ingredients for chicken in the same bowl and coat all the chicken well. Remove the pan with the potatoes and add the chicken. Place in oven while you toss everything together for the green beans and add them to the pan. 4. Bake for about 25 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. For extra crispy potatoes, turn the oven to broil on high for 4-5 more minutes if desired. 5. Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes before serving. Enjoy! Notes: The biggest thing that will vary this recipe for most of us will be the thickness and size of your chicken breasts. While the going time for a chicken breast at 425°F is about 25 minutes, not all pieces of chicken are created equal. If your chicken seems super large or thick, plan for some extra time. The chicken breasts I used were fairly average size in my mind, but like I said, no two chickens are alike! The potatoes need extra time to cook so you add those to the pan first. The chicken and the green beans should cook at a pretty similar pace. If the green beans seem to be cooking too quickly, you can remove them from the pan early. The bottom of the chicken is not as crispy as the top will get. You can use a rack on your sheet pan to allow any moisture to fall below versus staying on the chicken. Nutrition Facts Calories: 626 calories; Carbohydrates: 53g; Protein: 48g; Fat: 26g; Saturated Fat: 6g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g; Monounsaturated Fat: 15g; Trans Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 118mg; Sodium: 768mg; Potassium: 1953mg; Fiber: 7g; Sugar: 7g; Vitamin A: 945IU; Vitamin C: 37mg; Calcium: 219mg; Iron: 4mg Makes 4 servings Source: lemonsandzest.com/parmesan-crusted-chicken-sheet-pan-dinner