Chicken is one of the easiest, fastest and healthiest protein to cook for weeknight dinners and this recipe is no exception.

I made this delicious dish when I had a few extra chicken breast in my refrigerator and I needed it a quick dinner to prepare before taking my granddaughter to her basketball practice.

I also had a half head of each red and white cabbage to make an easy and quick salad; and in less than thirty minutes dinner was ready.

For the chicken

1 cup of good quality low calorie Italian dressing

1/2 tbsp. sea salt

1/4 tbsp. black pepper

7-8 boneless and skinless chicken breast

4 tbsp. olive oil

In a large bowl or zip bag add chicken, sea salt, black pepper and Italian dressing.

Mix well until all the chicken is fully covered with the dressing; set a side for about 10 to marinade or if you have the time its a great make ahead meal, just store the chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight night…

In the meantime make the salad.

When the 10 minutes are up and done preparing the salad add the olive oil into a large skillet over medium high heat; heat the olive oil and cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side, adjust the time of cooking according to the size of the chicken your cooking and don’t over crowd the skillet, few pieces at a time.

For the Cabbage salad

3-5 cups shredded white and red cabbage

2 tbsp. favorite BBQ sauce

3 dashes of tabasco sauce

1/2 tbsp. celery seeds

3 tbsp. good quality ranch dressing (I used yogurt base dressing)

1/2 tbsp. sea salt

1 tbsp. good quality low calorie Italian dressing

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. curry powder

2 cloves minced garlic

With a very sharp knife or a mandelin carefully shred both cabbages to thin slices and place in a large mixing bowl.

Place the rest of the ingredient into a separate mixing bowl and whisk until all combined, add to the cabbage and mix well…

Let the salad stand at room temperature for the flavors to develops… In the meantime  cook the chicken.

We all loved this dish, the chicken was moist and flavorful and the salad was the perfect companion to it, it had a little tangy and spicy flavors…

What I also love about this dish is that it could be easily served at room temperature at any time, so both salad and the chicken could be made ahead of time.

Enjoy!