pounded chicken breast.

I have recently become obsessed with pounding chicken breasts for cooking. There are a few reasons: it cooks a lot quicker, I use less chicken, they look so pretty all thin and pounded. And it is really simple to do.

Since we are moving soon and will then have to take on all of the shopping ourselves, I have been brainstorming and figuring out ways to stretch our food and money a little more. This is one of them. Because for a recipe that I would normally use 3-4 chicken breasts, I can pound out 1 or 2 and get the same results and amounts. That is really nice when I have such a big eater for a husband.

Here's how I do it. 

Take a thawed chicken breast and slice it horizontally, like you are going to butterfly it (slice parallel to the countertop, instead of perpendicular like a normal cut). Slice the breast all the way through so that you have two pieces. Place the pieces next to each other on the cutting board and cover them with a piece of plastic cling wrap. Using a mallet, heavy bottomed skillet, or empty wine bottle (any easy to wield item with a wide surface area should work) carefully pound the chicken breast from the center out. Keep touching the top of the chicken to check for uniformity. You want the breast to be evenly pounded so it will cook through evenly. Gently pound any edges that are too thick. Be careful not to pound it too thin; you do not want to tear holes in the chicken breast.

When the breast is pounded thin enough for your liking, move it to another dish to season or marinate. In the picture above, I used salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, and lemon to season the chicken before I pan seared it in butter. Then I tossed the chicken with egg noodles and fresh diced tomatoes and a little pasta water to create a sauce. It was perfect.