Blackened Chicken

I've always wanted to make blackened chicken but didn't want to spend the money buying blackening spice. Luckily, I found out that you can make your own at home with very common spices. yay! I love always being able to learn new things about cooking.

Blackening spice works great on chicken and fish. You can also use this mix in small quantities to season other dishes like risotto or potatoes. I served my chicken with something creamy like mashed potatoes to help with the spice level of the chicken. If you want to make this dish extra special I suggest making a sreamy sauce that doesn't over power the rub on the chicken.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts
green onion

Blackening Spice Mix:
4 parts paprika
2 parts kosher salt
1 part white sugar
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder
1 part dried oregano
1 part cayenne pepper
1 part freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine blackening spice ingredients and place in a container. Store any of the mix that you aren't intending to use immediately.

2. Lightly coat all of the chicken pieces in olive oil. Pour plenty of the spice mixture onto the chicken breasts and rub to make sure everything is coated well. You need a slightly thick coating to get the right amount of blackening on the chicken.

3. Warm a dry saute pan over a medium flame. Place chicken in pan and saute each side for about 3-4 minutes or until chicken is crusty and slightly blackened. You don't want to burn the spices on the chicken but they should darken.

4. Put a thermometer in teh thickest part of the chicken. Place the chicken in the saute pan into the oven. Cook at 350 until the chicken reaches 147.

5. Remove chicken from oven and put on a plate and cover with aluminum foil to rest for 5 minutes.

6. Once the chicken is rested, slice thinly and serve on top of mashed potatoes.