By Ann Maloney
With many of us back at the office or back to school, there will be no stopping for a minute to run to the kitchen and stir that pot of beans (or toss the laundry into the washing machine, for that matter).
Add in commuting time and, for many of us, the late summer will probably mean a return to dinner as that daily task awaiting us when we get home.
So when I saw this oh-so-simple idea in "The Fit Foodie Meal Prep Plan" (Tiller Press, 2020) by Sally O'Neil, the self-described "fit foodie", I decided flipping through it might help reboot my brain into after-work cooking mode.
O'Neil is a big advocate of working ahead on food, an d her efficient cookbook is all about making smart, simple choices to get the job done.
One of her tips is to cook once and eat twice – or, as was the case with this Sheet Pan Chicken 3 Ways, three times.
For this dish, you divide a sheet pan into three compartments with foil – or just use three separate small pans, if you prefer. In each compartment, you place boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces. Then you cover each with its own spice rub or flavourful paste. The chicken bakes quickly and leaves you with three flavours to play with in the days to come.
Sheet Pan Chicken 3 Ways
Ingredients
For the chicken
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.1kg total), trimmed of visible fat and cut into 2.5cm pieces
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp fine sea salt or table salt
1 tsp finely ground black pepper
Seasoning mixes (below)
Spicy BBQ Mix
1 tbs chilli powder
1½ tsp smoked paprika
¹/₄ tsp garlic powder
¹/₄ tsp onion powder
¹/₈ tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Maple-Sesame Mix
2 tbs white or black sesame seeds
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
Lemon-Rosemary Mix
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbs finely chopped fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried
Method
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 180C°. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with an extra-long piece of foil, with a few inches of overhang on both short sides.
Place the chicken on the foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss the chicken to ensure it is well-coated.
Divide the chicken into three equal portions. Pinch the foil to form two walls in the foil, creating three separate cooking areas.
Gather three small bowls for each of the seasoning mixes. In one, stir together the chilli powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne until combined. In another, stir together the sesame seeds, maple syrup, garlic powder and ground ginger until combined into a thick paste. In the third, stir together the lemon zest, juice and rosemary until combined.
Season each section of chicken with a different seasoning mix. Toss and rub the mixture into the chicken pieces; make sure the pieces are in a single layer. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through with an internal temperature of 75C°.