Kai and The Kitchen

Recipes and Musings of Food and Life

236 Chicken

One Pan, Thank you Ma’am {Quick one pan eggplant chicken parm..Trader Joe’s Hack}

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I frequently get asked if I ever get sick of cooking and cleaning up the mess that comes with it. My answer to that is YES, there are days when I want nothing to do with the kitchen and ordering or going out to dinner sound like a much better idea to me. And cleaning? I don’t think there is day when I’m not sick of that.

When I used to work in sales, I would come home some days more than exhausted, cranky, and with little energy to put together anything that took much more than putting something sad in the microwave for two minutes. And when I couldn’t even muster up the energy for that, there was always my two friends who could get me out of any bind: Jimmy and John (Any Beach Club or Italian Night Club fans in the house???) The truth is that sometimes you just don’t have the time or the energy to cook and then clean everything up after.

This one pan eggplant chicken is something I put together for nights when you don’t exactly feel like cooking or cleaning. It’s a relatively low carb, quick, and easy dinner that takes about 5 minutes to put together, 30 minutes in the oven, and practically no time to clean up. If eggplant parm and chicken parm had a very simple baby with no breading and less tomato sauce he/she would taste something like this.

The eggplant mixture in the recipe comes from Trader Joe’s and can be found with the rest of their canned goods next to their canned dolmas and giant canned white beans (By the way I also love both of these items!!) The eggplant is called “Grecian Style Eggplant with Tomatoes and Onions.” It is a simple mixture of eggplant, tomato, onion, and looks a little like a very chunky tomato sauce when you open the can. I also use it for a delicious hot eggplant parmesan dip that I will be putting up the recipe for eventually.

Let’s get started.

Step 1: Season that chicken. I try to elevate the greek flavors that come in the canned Grecian Eggplant. Mix your chicken your chicken with olive oil, oregano, dill, garlic, salt and pepper. I use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe, but feel free to substitute for thinly sliced boneless chicken breast filets. Preheat your oven to 350.

Step 2: One Pan Thank you Ma’am. Arrange your chicken in a single layer in the bottom of your skillet. Now spread the eggplant mixture so that it covers all of the chicken. If you want throw in a few of your favorite veggies to fill in the cracks between the chicken. This would be great with chopped zucchini or mushrooms. Top the eggplant layer with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a slice of mozzarella to cover each piece of chicken. Sprinkle with black pepper. If you are someone that likes a lot of tomato sauce, feel free to add a cup of your favorite tomato sauce in on top of the chicken and eggplant.

Step 3: You gotta bake it to make it. Toss your pan in the oven for 30 minutes.Then, turn on the broiler to get some color on the cheese. Broil 1-2 minutes checking every 30 seconds until you get a little bit of color on that cheese.

Step 4: Eat & Repeat. This recipe should make enough for a little extra chicken. These are great leftovers and will greatly appreciate a trip to your office the next day. Take that chicken out and show it the world.

 

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