Recipe? What Recipe?

Sometimes I forget that there are cooks that have not been puttering around in a kitchen for the last 30 50 years or so. A newer cook might not know about some of the old standby dinners that we "experienced" cooks use. So here is the easiest recipe I might have. I never even though of it as a "recipe" until Granddaddy told someone a few weeks ago, "She's got the best recipe for grilled chicken! Tell him what your recipe is." And I'm thinking, "Recipe? What recipe?" "You know, that recipe you use." My brain was racing. And then it dawned on me what he was talking about.

It's too easy to be called a recipe. But since Granddaddy was bragging about how good it is, I'll tell you what I do. It's what we are having for supper tonight.

Marinated Grilled Chicken

boneless skinless chicken breasts
bottled Italian salad dressing
soy sauce

Put chicken pieces in a ziploc bag. Pour in enough Italian salad dressing to thoroughly coat the chicken. Pour in a good splash of soy sauce. Zip the bag and squish it around to mix the dressing and the soy sauce. Place in refrigerator for 8 hours. Or 2 hours. Or 1 hour. (I've done it all of those ways. But I like to mix this together in the morning and let it marinate all day if I have time.) You might turn the bag over a time or two if you're home.

Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade.  Cook chicken on your grill. Or if it's raining like tonight, use the grill pan. (The Calphalon grill pan is my favorite and I've owned several kinds. I've gotten rid of all the others.) You could also bake it in the oven. If you use fat-free salad dressing, you might need to brush your grill with a little oil so the chicken doesn't stick. I really like a regular dressing for this. See, maybe there is a secret to it!

If you want to take one more step, you might want to pound the thick part of the chicken breast to make it thinner. That way it will cook quicker and more evenly. Put the boneless chicken breast between layers of saran wrap and pound the thick side with a meat mallet. No mallet? You can use a rolling pin or the bottom of a small cast iron skillet. Just pound it until the thick side of the breast approximately matches the thin side. Or, skip this and just be sure to cook it thoroughly!


Granddaddy is right. It IS good. Make extra and slice some for salads or sandwiches the next day. There is some value in writing down these easiest of recipes. I made a breakfast casserole for years just the way my mother made it. So simple that I didn't need to write it down. But then I skipped making it for a few years and I don't remember exactly what I did. And my mother isn't here any more to ask. So this chicken recipe is now in the books. Forever.