Spread 'Em! Chicken

As promised, here's the recipe for that yummy spread I talked about in my last post!  I've made this a few times now, and it never disappoints.  It's great because it's made with ingredients I almost always have on hand, takes about 5 minutes to prepare, and even tastes great as leftovers.

I've played around with several lower calorie options, finding that the higher calorie versions browned better in the oven (isn't that always the case?).  But the lower calorie ones still tasted amazing even though they didn't look quite as pretty.

*Here's a little disclaimer on all of my cooking recipes...I rarely measure anything, unless doing some precise baking.  "Eyeballing" it is usually the way I go.  So these measurements aren't meant to be exact...in fact, they're probably not exactly what I used!  Feel free to play around with the amounts and ingredients.  Oh, don't look so worried...it'll be fun!

Here's how to home-make the spread for your chicken:

- 1 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayo (regular or reduced fat)
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (grate your own or the kind from the shaker is fine)
- 2 tsp dried parsely
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- salt and black pepper to taste

Combine everything in a small bowl, and stir until combined.  (These amounts made enough for me to spread over 2 very large chicken breasts, so make more if you're planning to serve a big group.)  Yep, that's it!  You can even make the spread a few days in advance and store it in the fridge.

When you're ready to cook your chicken, preheat your oven to 375'F.  Grab your frozen or thawed chicken breasts, and slather that spread all over the top.  Lay it on thick, at least a half-inch or so.  You'll be glad you did.

Now, pop the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easier clean-up later), and cook them until all the pieces are at least 165'F by meat thermometer and the topping is bubbling and brown.  Mine took about 45 minutes with frozen chicken.  (If you know chicken, that would usually be a long time, but don't worry too much about overcooking your birds...the spread keeps them nice and juicy!)

Here's the finished product of the lower-calorie version.  Yes, it's a bit splotchier than it's caloric counterpart, but still mmm-mmm good!  Besides, brown food is good food, right?