I do realize it’s sort of ridiculous to be turning on the oven when it’s practically hot enough to bake something on the sidewalk, but I figure I can’t be the only person crazy enough to do it, so I wanted to share this super-easy recipe with the other zany people out there that throw common sense to the wind. 

This is a true 30-minute meal.  It looks & sounds like you put some time and effort into it, but thanks to a few convenience products & very few ingredients, everything comes together in a snap and you are rewarded with some amazing deliciousness.  The chicken is so juicy and flavorful–it will knock your socks off.  And while the method of preparation may be a bit foolhardy, it is a light meal that is absolutely perfect for summer. 

I received two boxes of Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous from the Near East company and ended up using both of them with this exact meal, twice, because it was so easy and delicious! I am a big fan of their whole wheat couscous (I use it in Orange Couscous with Chicken and Colorful Couscous Salad with Chickpeas) and while my husband and I both liked this preseasoned version, I think you’d get better flavor by adding your own seasonings. However, this is perfect for a night when you need dinner on the table in a jiffy.

Easy Parmesan Garlic Chicken
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½ cup grated (not powdered) Parmesan cheese
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
½ teaspoon garlic powder
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 lb.)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix cheese, salad dressing mix and garlic powder. Moisten chicken with water; coat with cheese mixture. Place in shallow baking dish that has been lined with foil and coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (170 degrees). If your chicken is not as golden as you like, you can broil it for a few minutes after it’s done cooking.

Serves 6

Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Couscous
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1 box (5.8 oz) Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous
1 1/4 cups water
1/4-1/3 cup chopped red pepper

Bring water & contents of spice pack inside the couscous box to a boil. Stir in the couscous & red pepper and remove from heat. Cover and let stand five minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve hot.  You could also add the red pepper after the couscous is done so that it would be more bright and crunchy, which I think would be better but didn’t think to do that until after we’d eaten it, of course.

Garlic Oven Roasted Zucchini
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1-2 medium or large zucchini
olive oil
garlic salt

Wash and dry your zucchini, then slice into 1/4″ rounds. Slice rounds in half and put into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and stir until all pieces are coated. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the zucchini out on it. Sprinkle with garlic salt and put in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. I stuck mine in on the top rack when there was 15 minutes cooking time left on the chicken so they’d be done at the same time.

*I received free Near East product in conjunction with this blog post.  Near East did not influence my opinions expressed here as a result.