Weeknight chicken dinner

Tonight we had oven-fried chicken (nice and crispy and a little sweet), green salad, and antipasto.  Yummy and easy.  I made some modifications to the recipe and am including my version. In particular, we always use wheat flour in place of all-purpose flour.

Oven-Fried Chicken


4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (we use Montreal Chicken, 25% less sodium)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1.5 cups cornflakes, crushed
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 egg white
1 Tbsp water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse chicken. Pat dry with paper towels, trim off any fat. (I was using full breasts, and so I actually fileted them into tenders before starting).

2. Combine flour, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in large resealable food storage bag.

3. Combine cornflake crumbs and parsley in shallow bowl.

4. Whisk together egg white and water in a small bowl.

5.  Add chicken to the flour mixture, one or two pieces at a time. Seal bag; shake until chicken is well coated. Remove chicken from bag, shaking off excess flour. Dip into egg white mixture, coating all sides. Roll in crumb mixture. Place in greased shallow baking pan. Repeat with remaining  pieces of chicken.

6.  Lightly spray chicken pieces with cooking spray. Bake breast pieces 18-20 minutes or until no longer pink in center.

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Antipasto salad


14-oz can of quartered artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and coarsely chopped
14 slices turkey pepperoni, halved
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped (or any other color you have on hand)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers, rinsed and drained if bottled
1/2 cup chickpeas

Combine all ingredients and mix with 2 Tbsp low-sugar Italian dressing or mix with the dressing below:

Dressing


1/2 Tbsp dried basil, crumbled
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil

You can also add olives, feta, or blue cheese for a tasty salad. If you want to make this a meal, mix with cooked chicken (you can buy the precooked chicken breast, which works really well in this salad) and serve over salad greens, maybe with a couple of slices of pita).

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This may be a good time to mention that we are changing how we handle carbs, but not cutting them out entirely. We had quesadillas with salad the other night, for instance, but we use low-carb tortillas and have *one* quesadilla, not two or three (our old habits).  Pita or pita chips are also on that list - buy the whole wheat and have a few. One of the big challenges in our diet is portion control - we actually count the chips that we eat and then put the bag away. Leaving the bag on the table is just too much temptation. As is heating too many tortillas or making too much toast with breakfast. We have learned what amounts are reasonable for us, and we measure everything - especially high carb items like couscous, quinoa, rice, bulgur, and potatoes. And we leave any extra on the counter on the other side of the room instead of on the table. It works!