Plan It {COOK IT} tASTE iT: "Video" for Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Rosemary Potatoes and Asparagus

I was planning on roasting some chicken and making a video with this meal, but it turned out my "camera man", wasn't able to make it tonight and my day was a little longer than expected. Instead of roasted chicken, I went for pan seared and instead of a video, you'll be getting a play by play with still photos. I apologize ahead of time for the bad lighting and bad angles, this is the first attempt, so here is hoping it only gets better!

Pan Roasted Chicken Breast
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
2-3 medium potatoes, or 6-8 small potatoes ( pre cooked whole potatoes with skins work the best. Perk of this, it makes the pan roasting part go super quick. Also, you can use russet, red, or white potatoes) *baking trick: use the microwave, takes 3-5 minutes. **cooks recommendation: If you do decide to pre cook them, as I did in the pics below, bake the potato whole, whether you are using the oven or microwave. Something with the starches get's thrown off when you dice and then microwave. Believe me, I've tried and it just doesn't work as well.
1 bunch of asparagus, about 6-8 pieces a person
1 small white onion, or 3/4 of a medium one (red or yellow would work too, I just had a white today)
1tbs plus 1 tsp diced garlic (3-4 cloves) *I'm a garlic lover, cut back if you are not a big fan
1tsp dried sage
2tsp dried rosemary (if using fresh, you may need to use closer to 4tsp)
1-2tsp crushed red pepper flake
salt to taste
pepper to taste
4-6 tbs olive oil

First off, I rinsed my veggies and had my potatoes already pre cooked before I started. I like to get multiple uses out of my kitchen equipment, so I try to whenever possible to save the meat prep for last. It saves on washing and "cootie" cleaning. Also, when possible I use the same pan to cook everything. Saves on having to heat up multiple pans, gives the dish a lot more flavor and saves on clean up! Always a good thing! This dish works great and I only dirtied the 3 dishes, besides the cutting board and knife.

I then got my asparagus ready by, checking where the asparagus naturally breaks, holding it at both end and then bending out until it snaps. This will get rid of the really tough bottoms and leave you with the more tender tops. (Thanks Ma, for being "my hands" in this photo, it just wasn't working out for me to use both hands to check the asparagus and snap a pic. lol.)

Once you know where one breaks, you can line that one up with the rest and give them all a cut.

Place them in a bowl, or on a plate and toss with 1tbs olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then set aside.

Now onto the potatoes. Cut them into 1/2 - 3/4 inch cubes. If you do pre cook them, it's always better to leave them a little under done than over done. When you start to cut them, you want them to hold their shape. So they are solid enough that you can stir them in the pan without a fear of turning them into mashed potatoes.

Then place potatoes in a bowl.

Now you are going to dice the onion, and add to the bowl of potatoes.

Then add 3tbs of olive oil, 1tbs diced garlic, rosemary, crushed red pepper, salt (about 1tsp), and pepper (about 1/2tsp) to taste. Stir until potatoes are well coated in oil and seasonings. Then set aside.

Now onto the chicken. Get the two breasts and place them rounded side up.

You're going to take a sharp knife and cut down the middle center of each breast, while holding pressure on the top. Repeat to both chicken breasts. You'll end up making four separate pieces, all about the same size.

Now season both sides of each chicken breast with salt, pepper, 1tsp garlic, and sage. Make sure to rub it in well.

Once chicken is seasoned, in a large frying pan, head up 1-2tbs olive oil on medium high heat. When the pan has heated up, place the chicken in, making sure to not over crowd the pan.

Chicken will take about 3 minutes per side. Once chicken is browned, then flip to the other side. When internal temp reaches 160-165F at the thickest spot, chicken is done. Pull out of pan, place on a plate and allow to the meat to rest.

Next, cooking potatoes. Keep heat on medium high and add potatoes into pan.

Make sure to spread out the potatoes in the pan, so they will brown evenly. This will take 3-5 minutes. Resist the urge to stir them, you want the potatoes to get a good browning on them before you turn them. Use a flat headed spoon to stir, being careful to not break them up to much, while also scraping of the good bits that were left by the chicken. Once browned, remove from pan and set aside.

It's the asparagus's turn now. Turn the heat down to just below medium high and place the asparagus into the pan. Just to warn ya, you might get a little smoke, so make sure you have your stove fan going!

If you remember the asparagus was only seasoned with a little salt and pepper, but because you are cooking it in the same pan, as the garlic and rosemary goodness, it will pick up a little of that flavor too! This was thin asparagus, it took only 3 minutes or so to cook. You don't want it to be to soft, it should still have a bit of a snap to it and be bright green.

And there you have it folks! Start to finish, with already thawed chicken, was about 35 minutes. (don't mind the shiny silverware, it just makes the picture look cooler. haha.)