The skillet is one of the best inventions since — yeah, I'll use that food metaphor — sliced bread. This wonder of precision-crafted metal can handle your dinner with ease and gives you the extra bonus of being easy on the cleanup, too.

As simple and wonderful as the slow cooker is for making stews and soups, the skillet is likewise just as simple and wonderful for quick sautes, stir fries and other easy-to-make dinners, plus you don't have to wait all day to get it cooked!

I know a lot of people swear by their nonstick cookware, but I'm not one of them. The fact is a heavy stainless skillet will make fabulous sauces the way a nonstick cannot. Why? Because there is no "stick" and you need the "stick" on the bottom of the pan to give you those golden nuggets of flavor left by chicken (or whatever else you're cooking) to infuse savor into your sauce. This is the secret to richly flavored sauces. If you have a nonstick skillet, by all means use it for making eggs, but skip it for skillet dinners!

So what are you waiting for? Get your skillet out and let's get busy! Here's an easy recipe for you that I guarantee you will make again and again. It's a SavingDinner.com classic with a huge fan base, so make sure you print it off and keep it.


Garlic Lime Chicken

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon thyme

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 tablespoons lime juice

On a dinner plate, mix together first 7 ingredients. Sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken breasts (or double the spice mixture if you like it a little spicier).

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In a skillet heat butter and olive oil together over medium high heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and add lime juice and chicken broth to the pan, whisking up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat and serve. Serves 6.

Per Serving: 343 Calories; 11g Fat (31.1 percent calories from fat); 55g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 147mg Cholesterol; 612mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 7 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with garlic mashed potatoes (make mashed potatoes; add garlic powder to taste), steamed broccoli and a salad if you want more greens.


Leanne Ely, a k a Dinner Diva, is the author of the best-selling "Saving Dinner" and "Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way" (Ballantine). What's for dinner? Go to www.savingdinner.com and find the solution!

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