Perfect Baked Chicken

In my Instagram story (@mydailydelish) last night, I mentioned the value of layering flavors. I think that’s the main thing that turns a decent meal into a delicious one. You can’t just toss stuff in a bowl and hope that it’ll harmonize and come together at the end. A simple example is the BLBP (Bacon, Lettuce, Bell Pepper) sandwich I made a couple days ago. Instead of just grabbing bread and slapping the components together, I toasted the bread, turned my basic mayonnaise into an herbed, lemony mayonnaise, cooked my bacon to perfection, and added some salt and pepper at the end. Each component of every meal needs to be perfectly seasoned. This is where this chicken comes into play! It really won’t work if you just drop plain ol’ boring chicken into your dish. It needs to be seasoned and cooked to make it the best it can be. Here is an easy way to make Perfect Baked Chicken. It’ll be a great addition to your soups, homemade chicken salad, quesadillas, the top of a salad, or any other yummy creations you can come up with. Here we go!
A note: The balsamic will give you that beautiful color on the outside of the chicken, and helps build flavor. But the great thing about this recipe is that it’s very buildable. You’ll have a great base with this recipe and can add different flavors and spices afterward depending on which direction your meal is ultimately heading.

PERFECT BAKED CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS:
- Boneless Skinless Chicken breast(s), sliced in half or pounded into 1” thickness
- Olive oil, roughly 1 T per breast
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic powder
- Balsamic Vinegar, roughly 1 t per breast

INSTRUCTIONS:
1.) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2.) Slice your chicken breast in half or pound it until it is uniformly one inch thick. Place on a baking sheet.
3.) Drizzle one side of your chicken breast with olive oil (about a half a tablespoon), and balsamic vinegar (about a half a teaspoon).
4.) Add a heavy pinch of salt and pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder.
5.) Use your hands to rub the seasonings and liquid onto your chicken.
6.) Flip your chicken and repeat the process.
7.) Bake for 10 minutes, then baste chicken with juices on the pan.
8.) Flip and bake for another 5-8 minutes, or until center of the breast reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remember that each oven cooks differently.
9.) Let your chicken rest for 5 minutes while the juices redistribute themself. Slice and enjoy!