Veggie Topped Baked Chicken

I was reading Men's Health the other week, and at the end was an article by Chef Eric Ripert. He had to cook for his son after work, and he was lauding the convenience and prowess of the ordinary toaster oven. A toaster oven is a great size for small meals, yet it's nearly the same strength of an oven. Plus, the size means it heats up faster and more evenly. If you wrap the tray in foil, cleanup is super easy. Out of the five recipes he described, I liked his recipe for a fennel topped chicken, so I modified it a bit for an easy chicken entree. Check it out:




Ingredients
Olive oil
Bell pepper
Tomato
Onion
Dried basil
Chicken breast
salt and pepper


Method
1 Preheat oven/toaster oven to 400.
2 Julienne onion, bell pepper, and tomato; cut sticks in half if desired
3 Butterfly chicken breast completely (into two pieces) or pound into 1/2 thickness. Salt and pepper both sides.
4 Wrap baking pan in foil. Brush with olive oil. Place chicken breasts in pan
5 Toss veggies in olive oil and place over chicken. Add dried basil over top. (Lately, I've been sprinkling garlic powder and crushed red pepper, too)
6 Bake for 20 minutes
7 Serve with the juices



You can serve this with another veggie side and/or a starch. In the picture above, I had it with sauteed swiss chard as side. Prepare the swiss chard like spinach. Last time I had it, I had it with blanched broccoli and some sliced potato for my starch. This is a light and easy meal to make, and you have time to clean up/cook your sides while waiting for the chicken!


You're probably wondering why there isn't any details to the ingredients, as in how much of what. Well, after cooking for a while, I no longer confine myself to numbers and counts. I think of how the dish should turn out and adjust accordingly. But, if you must know, the meal in the picture took 2 chicken breasts, 1 small tomato, 1/2 a medium bell pepper, 1/3 of a small red onion, and about 2 tbsp olive oil. It produced two servings; one for dinner and one for lunch the next day. The swiss chard cooks like spinach, so one bunch barely makes two servings. I'd buy more, at least 3/4 bunch per serving.