Baked Chicken Breasts

There are so many ways to cook chicken and each method gives different results.  Chicken is higher in fat than some alternatives but that can be reduced by removing the skin along with any remaining fat before cooking.  Removing the fat can result in drier meat especially if grilling or baking.  It can also result in a less flavourful meat.  The work around for both is to use some type of sauce that will provide both moisture and flavour when using a dry cooking method (eg. grilling, baking) or use a moist cooking method (eg. braising, slow cooking, pan frying).    It is also important to not over cook chicken especially when using dry cooking methods.  Cook until the juices run clear and/or use a meat thermometer for an internal temperature of 165ºF (74ºC).

Baking chicken is one low fat method of cooking chicken.   I like using a sauce when baking boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Diana Sauce is always a nice tomato based sauce for oven baked chicken.  An alternative to sauces is chutneys, jellies and marmalades.  I served the baked chicken breasts with home canned Old Vermont beans and baked potatoes. 

I discus home canned foods here quite a bit because that is what is in my pantry.  There is a myth that commercially canned foods are safer and generally better than home canned foods.  That simply is not true.  In fact, home canned foods are safer and better than commercially canned foods.  Government standards for commercially canned foods actually allow a low level of bug parts in commercially canned foods.  The allowable bug parts in my home canned food is zero.  With home canned foods you know the source, control the quality and eliminated food additives that can cause food allergies and other health problems.  

Dried beans are very economical even in comparison to store bought canned beans.  Cooking dried beans takes a bit of planning as they need to soak overnight before cooking.  An alternative method is the quick soak method where the beans are covered with water, brought to a boil then covered and allowed to soak for one hour before cooking.  However, dried beans can also be home canned at a fraction of the cost of store bought canned beans.