Seasoned Baked Chicken... Taco, Cajun, Italian, You Pick!

Once again we look at chicken. This easy recipe has about 5 minutes of hands on time and is ready before I've finished my evening 'chores' making it a go-to meal when I was married. I've had it on salads, as a protein main with steamed or sauteed veggies, and sliced cold in a wrap... it was pretty tasty any way I tried it. Feel free to mix it up and try this with other spice combinations, the recipe listed below uses Taco Seasoning mix but there are other options. See the "Mix It Up" note at the bottom for two alternate versions that I have already tried out myself.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs Chicken

Enough taco seasoning to coat the chicken (1/4 C or 1-2 packets of clean taco seasoning or this)

NECESSITIES:

Large bag or deep bowl for coating chicken

Baking Dish

PROCEDURE:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Wash and pat dry your chicken pieces. You can use whatever kind of chicken your family prefers. Since I usually use this on salads I will often use chicken breast for the sake of being easy but that isn't the only cut that this will work with.
3. Place seasoning, home made or a clean store bough variety,  into the large bag. I usually start with half of my seasoning mixture so that I can add in more later and don't use more than I necessary.
4. Add chicken pieces in a few at a time and shake the bag to give them a good coat of the seasoning mixture. Remove the chicken and place it in the baking dish. 
5. Continue this process until all chicken is covered and placed in the baking dish.
6. Bake chicken until the juices run clear when cut. If you are using chicken breasts it usually takes 20-30 minutes but the time can vary depending on what cut of chicken you are using, if it is bone in/out, and etc.
7. Let chicken rest for a few minutes then serve. My favorite way to serve this is on a salad so I will slice up the chicken and add it to a big salad with lots of varied greens and veggies.

MIX IT UP: You can do this with a Tbsp of almond meal and Italian seasoning as well. Just add a little melted butter or ghee drizzled over the top for a delicious pairing with zucchini pasta or other Italian inspired meal!

Want a Cajun version of this? Just sub the taco seasoning for cajun spice mix and you've got the beginnings of one of the tastiest ceasar salads I have ever had. Yumm!

The possibilities are endless! :D