Almost Fried Chicken - an easier way . . .

My family likes fried chicken but there are two reasons why it doesn't happen too often around here: 1.) It takes a lot of oil to fry. and 2.) It isn't the healthiest way to serve chicken. I do like to treat them on special occasions, however, but I just remembered my third negative reason - I tend to get my shirts spattered with oil spots!

Yesterday, I tried an experiment. I marinated the chicken pieces in creamy Italian salad dressing for several hours. When it came time to frying it, I didn't! Instead, I wiped off the excess dressing and coated each piece with Panko crumbs, pushing them on to keep them in place. I put a rack on a large baking sheet, and then placed the chicken on the rack. This was so the underside wouldn't touch the pan and get soggy. I baked the chicken for approximately 45-60 minutes (depends on the size of your chicken pieces) in a 350 degree oven. About 15 minutes before it was done, I sprayed them liberally with vegetable oil spray to increase the crisp factor and browning.

The marinating provided us with very juicy chicken and there was enough crunch to please the fried-chicken fans.

It is up to you but I did season my Panko crumbs. I also remembered to make extra chicken as it tastes good cold, too.

Can't Live on Cookies alone . . .

Although we are busy every day of the year, it seems that no matter how we plan our day, we end up with a hectic one and still have dinner to prepare for our family. I've found that no matter how I time my Christmas shopping, it always takes longer than anticipated and the cold kitchen mocks me for not getting the scent of cooking dinner going promptly! This is an easy way to get dinner going with not too much stress. While the chicken is baking, you can put some potatoes or rice to boil, and steam some frozen vegetables. This is a family favorite although not a weekly one given the calories!

Fried Chicken in the Oven takes the grease splatters out of your life! You will need two or more sticks of butter or margarine, melted. And one or more cut up chickens, depending on the size of your family. Cutting it up yourself saves money especially when you hit those under eighty cents a pound sales. Mix approximately two cups all-purpose flour blended with the following: salt and pepper to tastes, garlic salt, half-sharp paprika and any other seasoning in your cupboard you like or that sounds interesting. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dip each piece of chicken into the melted butter or margarine, coat with seasoned flour and arrange the pieces on a baking pan or sheet (with sides!). Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until chicken is golden, crispy and fork tender. Drain excess fat, arrange on platter and serve. It takes about ten minutes to prepare, tastes like fried and avoids the mess of frying.

If you have room on the baking pan, you can scrub, quarter, and dip some potatoes in the same chicken mixture and bake them along with the chicken thus taking yet another chore out of your hands!