by Stephen Poulitsis

Created on: August 26, 2010   Last Updated: November 21, 2010

Life is too short to stuff a mushroom and at the end of a long day we often need something quick and easy to prepare for dinner, yet still demand something tasty to tantalize the taste buds. This dinner recipe will suit people who want to prepare something quickly and then leave it in the oven for about forty minutes while relaxing. It can even be prepared hours in advance and left in the fridge until dinner time. The good thing is it can be used for most type of meats and fish, and is as easy to whip up for one person as for ten.

One simple recipe can produce a different meal every evening depending on what you choose as the basic ingredients. It is also a healthy way of cooking using fresh produce. It beats any store bought convenience meal hands down. You will need an oven, an oven tray, and a roll of silver tin foil. You can change any of the ingredients around to your own taste, but for an oven baked chicken parcel here you go. For one parcel you will need:

1 flattened chicken breast.

½ a lemon.

Extra virgin olive oil.

Silverskin or other small onions.

Mushrooms.

Simply take a square of silver foil and put the chicken in the center. Tuck the onions and mushrooms around the chicken. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken, add any herbs and seasonings you choose, and then drizzle generously with olive oil. Roll the sides of the foil to the center to make a package which allows enough room on top to act as an air pocket, and pop in the oven to produce one perfect meal.

Variations on this are thin cut lamb chops with mint, pork with sage leaves and apple slices, fish with lemon, and lamb chops with cheese. You can add other vegetables to the package such as broccoli and peppers. It works well with very thinly sliced potatoes on top of the meat, or layer the potatoes with sliced onions and freshly ground black pepper, but allow a little longer for cooking.

One excellent benefit is no pans to wash afterwards.

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