Go to meals: Pan Roasted Herb Chicken Breast

My mantra for go to meals is built on simplicity.  It has to be quick, has to be simple, has to be delicious and hopefully it's somewhat healthy.  So for this post, I give you my pan roasted herb chicken breast.  Depending on the mood, I may serve this with different veggies and starch but this week I decided to go with a nice mixed green salad with sunflower seeds, feta and raisins.  I use skin on, bone on chicken breast but you can definitely use skinless, boneless chicken breasts.  Personally I prefer to buy my chicken with skin and bones because its much cheaper and easy to de-bone and take the skin off.  It's also more flavorful with skin and bones and the skin acts as a self-basting mechanism.  (Did I just refer to skin as mechanism?  Just goes to show that I may know about food, but I won't ever make a living as a writer)

The flavor accelerators

Give your breast some herb love

Pan Roasted Herb Chicken
2 bone in, skin on, chicken breast
2 sprigs of Thyme - pull thyme off the stock and discard the stock
2 sprigs of Rosemary - pull rosemary off and chop finely, discard the stock
1 clove of garlic finely minced
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1tsp pepper
3 tbsp olive oil

Mix thyme, rosemary, garlic, zest, olive oil, salt and pepper together to form a paste.
Rub paste into the chicken breast and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours
Pull chicken out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking and let it rest to room temperature
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Heat a cast iron skillet or oven proof heavy bottomed pan to medium-high heat
Add a bit of olive oil into the pan
Sear chicken skin side down for till it turns golden brown - 2-3 minutes
Flip chicken and immediately put into oven to roast for about 18 minutes (time may vary depending on size of chicken breast - internal temperature should be at least 165 degrees, but try not to overcook it as chicken breast gets real dry, real fast)
Take it out of oven and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Mixed Green Salad
Spring Mix
Feta Cheese
Shredded Carrots
Sliced Red Onions
Sliced Celery
Cherry Tomatoes
Sliced Cucumbers
Raisins
Sunflower Seeds

Dressing
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Honey
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp EV Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients for dressing and whisk till it is all incorporated and emulsified.
Toss in with all salad dressing ingredients and serve. Enjoy!