Recipe(tried): Broccoli Baked Potatoes and Chicken Breasts with Lemon-Garlic Sauce - a couple of suggestions

An easy baked stuffed potato or twice baked potato can be made as such:

If you need 4 baked stuffed potatoes you will need to cook 6 normal size baked potatoes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Scrub 6 baking potatoes. Dry and place on a baking sheet or directly on the oven rack. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender.

When done, lay 1 potato on a cutting board flat. With a bread knife or a serrated edge knife gently cut off the top of the potato (lengthwise) being careful not to tear the skin.

Now while the potato is still hot and holding it with a cloth towel in your hand gently insert a spoon and gently dig out the white part of the potato leaving the skin intact. Place the insides in a bowl. Now be careful not to dig down all the way to the brown skin you don't want the shell to be too thin or flimsy. Set aside four of the potato shells.

After the six potatoes are scooped and while the bowl of potatoes is still hot you will add ranch dressing (optional), sour cream, a little buttermilk, some chopped chives or green onions pepper, salt, and grated parmesan cheese t and mix. The key here is to not make it soupy if you think it is too soupy you can add more grated parmesan cheese or instant potato flakes to firm up.

Now if you like your broccoli overcooked and mushy you can stir it into the filling. If not, you can cook it separately and strategically add it after you reheat the potatoes.

Stuff the potato filling mixture from the six potatoes into the shells of the four. These can be made a day ahead of time.

Heat in a microwave until 160 degrees internal temperature or bake in a 350 oven covered with foil or without, until heated through. Watch so the don't dry out.

For the baked chicken breast what you can do is use a boneless or bone in skin on or skin off breast. Try to use fresh, not frozen. .Season with salt and pepper or with lemon pepper from the spice section at your grocery store. Then lightly coat you chicken breast with all purpose flour and shake off excess flour

Now place your chicken breast into a skillet that has been heated with olive oil or canola oil (a quarter inch oil is ok) just below the smoking point and cook until you have a nice golden brown crust. Don't crowd them in the pan and don't move the breasts until they release from the bottom and are ready to be turned over otherwise they will stick to the pan or not brown properly. Do this with all of your chicken breasts. The key here is not to cook them all the way in the pan just long enough for some nice color on both sides. To finish cooking, place on a baking sheet in a preheated 350 oven and bake until fully cooked.

For the sauce there are a thousand ways to make this but here is the easiest.

In a small skillet, place a little finely minced garlic and a little butter. Cook but don't brown the butter or garlic. Add some fresh squeezed lemon juice and some canned or fresh chicken stock (not bouillon cubes) and let it cook a few minutes. Taste it and if it needs more lemon add lemon, garlic add some garlic.

Now thicken ever so slightly by combining a teaspoon of cornstarch and a teaspoon of cold chicken stock. If it needs to be thicker make more of the cornstarch mixture and add.

Remove from the heat and stir in some room temperature butter. If you have a cup of sauce you swirl in a tablespoon or two of butter. Swirl it into the sauce, the more the better. Now it is important to not boil the butter after it is added to the sauce.

Oh yeah don't forget the lemon pepper in the sauce too. If you have any questions ask me or somebody else, we will be happy to assist you. Good Luck.