Chicken with Goat Cheese, Herb and Panko Crust

                                      

Chicken with Goat Cheese, Herb and Panko Crust
* A fast and delicious favorite.
* Serves 2 or 3, depending on # of chicken breasts used.

Ingredients:
2 large or 3 smallish chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
salt and pepper, for seasoning

4 oz goat cheese
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
3 tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley
couple shakes onion powder
zest of 1 lemon
pinch of kosher salt
pinch black pepper
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (might need a little more or less depending on the size of your chicken breasts - I like a good crust though)
olive oil

How to:
Pull the chicken and goat cheese from the fridge and let sit out 20 minutes to take the chill off while you chop up the herbs and assemble the rest of your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 and spray a medium baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and trim off any fatty or unpleasant bits. Place in your baking dish and season the tops very lightly with salt and pepper.

In a small/medium bowl, mix the goat cheese, chopped herbs, onion powder, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper with a fork. You can also add a little olive oil if you like to make it easier to spread onto the chicken, just depends on the moisture content of your goat cheese.

Divide the cheese mixture evenly over the tops of the chicken breasts, carefully spreading it out with the back of a spoon, or more easily - your hands. Next sprinkle the panko crumbs on top of the cheese mixture, lightly pressing the crumbs into the cheese so they stick and form a crust. Drizzle the tops lightly with olive oil, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove the foil and bake another 5 or so minutes just until the panko has lightly browned and the chicken is cooked through. Let rest a couple of minutes before serving.