F.C.... Fried Chicken!

Okay... so I have a recipe for you today, but not meatless.  Just recently the husband and I made this fried chicken.  I did not tell my husband until after we ate it all and he raved about how good it was that it was a weight watchers recipe.  Yes, he loved it and it was a weight watchers recipe.  This oven fried chicken is truly amazing.  It is crunchy, has tons of flavor and was really moist.  We just cooked this and I am already craving it again! A big thanks to Everyday Maven for sharing this delicious recipe!  I found it on Pinterest, of course!

Ingredients:

• 1 whole organic chicken, cut up into 8 pieces, skin removed  (I just bought a big package of chicken thighs on sale rather than dealing with a whole chicken.)
• 1 5-ounce box Classic Melba Toast, crushed
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• non stick cooking spray or oil mister

1. Start by lining a baking sheet with tin foil and place cooking rack on top. Lightly spray cooking rack with non stick cooking spray.
2. Now, lets crush the Melba Toast. If you are a patient person and want the best possible results, place the Melba Toast in a large ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush it. If you are crunched for time or slightly impatient like me, throw it in the food processor. Help the process a bit by crushing it in the package before tossing into the food processor bowl. You do NOT want the Melba Toast to be completely pulverized. Leave some little pebbles and texture for maximum crispy crunch! 
3. Add in salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder and oregano. Pulse a couple more times. 
4. Combine Dijon and light mayo in a shallow dish. 
5. Get an assembly line ready: chicken, a shallow dish or plate with mayo mixture, Melba crumbs and lined baking sheet. 
6. Coat one piece of chicken at a time with mayo mixture (just enough to lightly coat) and press into Melba toast crumbs, making sure the chicken is evenly coated. Repeat until all chicken is coated. 
7. Use an oil mister or non stick cooking spray to lightly spray each piece of chicken.
8. Preheat oven to 400F. Place oven rack in upper middle position. Cook for 60 minutes, rotating the baking sheet one time at 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve and Enjoy! 

You will NOT disappointed with this recipe.  It is so freaking good!  IF you are on weight watchers (we are not), here is the "skinny":

• Skinless thighs are 3 Points Plus each plus 1 Point Plus for the breading so 4 Points Plus each.
• Skinless legs are 2 Points Plus each plus 1 Point Plus for the breading so 3 Points Plus each.
• Skinless breasts 3 Points Plus each for 4 ounces plus 1 Point Plus for the breading so 4 Points Plus each.

Have a I mentioned how good this chicken is?  Yuuummmy!  Until next time...xoxo

M.M.... Meatless Monday!

It's baaaacccckkkk!  I have gotten my butt back in gear and am back into menu planning and eating meatless at least one day each week.  Today I am sharing a flavorful pasta dish for you that is very flavor, comforting and meatless! :)  Where did I find it?  Budget Savvy Diva... by way of  Pinterest,  course!  


Ingredients:

• 14 oz of Orecchiette Pasta ( or short pasta)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Cup of Chopped Onion
• 3 Cloves of Garlic ( Minced)
• 1 Cup of Sour Cream
• 4 oz of Cream Cheese ( Room Temperature)
• 3/4 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice + Zest
• 10 Oz of Spinach ( Make sure to squeeze excess moisture, after it has been thawed of course)
• 13.5 Can of Artichoke Hearts rinsed and chopped
• 1 Cup of Mozzarella
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 Teaspoon of Pepper

What to do:

1. Preheat Oven To 425
2. Cook pasta according to the box. Keep 1/4 Cup of the Pasta Water before you drain the cooked pasta.
3. Heat oil in pan and cook onions for 8 – 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute.
4. In a large bowl – Mix Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, Parmesan, Lemon (juice and zest), onions, and garlic. Add Pasta and mix.
5. Stir in spinach, artichokes, 1/4 cup of cooking liquid from the pasta, salt, pepper, and 1/2 Cup of Mozzarella
6. Place mixture into greased 2.5 – 3 qt casserole dish and place the rest of mozzarella cheese on top
7. Place in the oven till golden brown on top – about 10 – 15 minutes.

Mmmmm....meatless!  Until next time...xoxo

M....Meaty Monday!

Okay I tried out a meatless recipe this weekend that I intended on sharing today, but it was not GREAT.  So, instead I am sharing the exact opposite of meatless Monday.... MEATY Monday.  The husband and I have been on a constant search for a great chili recipe.... like really really great.  Chili is kind of like pizza... even when it is bad it is fine,  But, we wanted AMAZING hearty, thick, meaty, flavorful, slightly spicy chili.  We found our recipe.....it was so delicious.  I found it on "Gimme Some Oven"... yes love the name!  


We made a few substitutions...

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1.5 – 2 lbs. lean beef (or you can use pork).  We got steak and cut it up.
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 a jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced 
• 1 green Pepper (or Poblano)
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

 

• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz.) can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chiles)
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Method:

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the meat (beef or pork) and cook until just browned on all sides.  Then remove meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In a large stock pot (or dutch oven) heat the additional 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat.  Add the onions, poblano and jalapeno peppers, and saute until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and spices and saute until very aromatic, about 1 minute more.  Add in the beef broth, water, beans, Rotel, tomato sauce, vinegar and browned meat, and stir to combine.

Simmer over medium-low heat for a couple of hours (We did 3 hours covered, one hour uncovered).  

To serve, ladel soup into bowls and top with desired toppings.

We a few changes from the original recipe (posted on Gimme Some Oven).  We omitted the Poblano pepper because we could not find it at our grocery store.  Chipotle Powder was also omitted.  It was like 8 bucks for a large thing and we thought we would never use it again, so just left it out.  Yep, we were cheap.  We did not have to add flour or cornstarch as we left it simmering for several hours and it thickened right up.  Next time I might think about adding a can of kidney beans ... just to get a little more bean action going on. 

This Chili Recipe is a 9 in my book.  Definitely the best one we ever made!  We are having it over hot dogs tomorrow night... chili dogs.. yumm!  Definitely not a meatless week... oh well.  For those of you who are meatless, try the sweet potato chili I blogged about in the past.  It is also quite amazing.

Until next time...xoxo