Skinny Fried Chicken

Okay, I know what you're thinking...here we go with the oxymorons again. "Skinny" Fried Chicken? Yes! This recipe is baked but it actually has, as the hubster described it, "an almost like fried chicken" result. And he should know... I have tried a bazillion recipes for baked chicken with little success. The secret this recipe has is the addition of baking soda to the breading mixture. The results were really good. So good, that I've made this twice now before having time to blog about it. The original recipe (not to be confused with a certain famous bearded franchise') calls for using chicken drumsticks, which I did. The second time I made it, I used boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins which cook much quicker. The garlic and yogurt marinade produces a really moist flavorful chicken. Cooking the chicken on a wire rack and spraying it with olive oil cooking spray ensures its crispiness. One thing I will say is the second time around, I flipped the chicken in the middle of cooking so that both sides could crisp. This is definitely a keeper and I hope you'll give it a try !

"Skinny Fried Chicken"

1 cup fat free plain Green yogurt
1 tsp prepared mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 chicken drumsticks, skin removed (or chicken tenderloins)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Olive oil cooking spray

In a large resealable bag combine yogurt, mustard, and garlic. Add chicken, seal bag, and turn to coat. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In another plastic bag mix dry ingrediants. Remove chicken from marinade and add one piece at a time to flour mixture, close bag and shake to coat. Place on a well greased wire rack over a baking sheet. Spritz chicken with cooking spray. Bake drumsticks 40-45 minutes, turning once while baking. (If using chicken tenderloins, bake time will be approximately 20-25 minutes)

"Nacho Mama's Chicken & Rice Casserole"

We've all had traditional chicken and rice casserole...it's yummy, savory, creamy, and just plain comfort food good. Your mom probably made it for church suppers, BUT, this is NOT your mama's recipe. Oh no. This is meatier and even better than that.... it's made in the crock pot ! Now as usual, the original recipe called for some yummy goodness that I had to omit for my family, but feel free to add "de spices" as you would desire. (it actually called for diced red pepper, celery, and onion) And I'm writing about this before we eat, so hopefully we will not have to resort to "stretchy pants" afterwards, however,if my pre-taste testing is correct, we may just have to !


Crock Pot Chicken & Rice

4-6 chicken breast, cooked and diced with 4 cups broth reserved
1/2 lb pork sausage, cooked
1/2 Hillshire Farm smoked sausage, sliced and cooked
1 pkg dry chicken noodle soup packet
1 cup rice

Mix all together in crock pot and cook 2-4 hours until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.