Baked Chicken Breasts with Fresh Herbs

     It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve had to learn to cook everything from scratch. I’m getting very good. I’m also embracing the frugal side of me that lay dormant for many years. I search for deals, though if quality is more expensive then I will take a leap and buy. One thing last year that seemed to cost a fortune was all the herbs I was buying to flavor the food. I went through a ton of coriander, salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary and many, many others. Aside from the cost it bothered me that I had no idea how fresh the herbs were in those nifty little glass bottles. So I decided, after asking my parents if I could have a little plot of land in their garden for my herbs. I didn’t know what I was going to grow, or what would grow wonderfully in this climate, but I knew that I wanted fresh, cheap and quality. When you grow your own that combination is possible.
     Now a few months after spading up the lovely, sweet smelling soil I am starting to see the fruits of my labor. I’m trying to use fresh herbs in my cooking daily. I’ve noticed that fresh herbs taste completely different than dried herbs (except for rosemary, that’s about the same just more potent fresh). Previously I thought sage was boring, but fresh it has wonderful flavor.

Baked chicken breasts with fresh herbs:
One of my first experiments was with chicken of course. To follow my “recipe”, you will need:

• Two or more uncooked chicken breasts – not frozen (freezing meat changes it, makes it less yummy.)
• A baking dish with a lid – the lid will keep the steam in and not let the meat dry out.
• A selection of fresh herbs – I used sage, curry, oregano, marjoram, and basil.
• Salt

Simply place chicken breasts in a baking dish. Tear or mince herbs to smallish size and sprinkle over meat and into bottom of pan. Sprinkle salt. Bake at 350 degrees F, for about 30-40 minutes, or until done. Temperature for poultry is about 160 degrees F. (Chicken is easy to tell though, it will no longer look clear and pink, but solid and more white or brown than pink.)

Raw Chicken Breasts with Fresh Herbs - before baking