Hungry, anyone??

Has anyone else been in a cooking/baking mode lately???? I certainly have!

As I've perused the blog world this past week, it seems like everyone out there is posting something about cooking or recipes or something!!! I've copied some amazing sounding recipes from Biblical Womanhood, Dawson's Delights and other blogs! Y'all should check them out!

I have been baking...fresh yeast cinnamon rolls, banana pudding made with homemade vanilla pudding, layered cherry chocolate cake...yum, yum!!

I've also been trying out some new chicken recipes. You see, chicken is about the cheapest meat I can get these days--that means, I have a freezer full of it. Everything from 10 lbs. of leg quarters to packages of chicken legs at $0.69/lb. Needless to say, I need some creative, but inexpensive, already-have-the-ingredients-in-the-house ideas!

This week, we've tried a new and yummy recipe for oven-fried chicken and a recipe for Chicken Tetrazzini that I changed up. It actually all came out really yummy!!!

So, all that to say this...

Here's the Oven-fried Chicken recipe. It's super simple and easy. Best of all, the ingredients are inexpensive; and normally, we all have them laying around the kitchen anyway!!!

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN
Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Prep: 20 min
Bake:45 min

Ingredients--

1 egg, beaten
3 T. milk

1-1/4 cups crushed cornflakes or finely crushed rich round crackers (I made it with corn flakes.)
1 t. dried thyme, crushed
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. salt (honestly, it's chicken! M ore salt was needed, I thought)
1/8 t. pepper

I also added some Garlic powder to this mix because we enjoy that garlicky taste...your choice...add whatever seems good to you!

2 T. butter, melted

2-1/2 to 3 lbs meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs and/or drumsticks)


Directions--

1. In a small bowl, combine egg and milk. For coating, in a shallow dish, combine cornflakes, thyme, paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder; stir in melted butter. Set aside. Skin chicken. Dip chicken pieces, 1 at a time, into egg mixture; coat with crumb mixture.

2. In a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan, arrange chicken, bone side down, so the pieces don't touch. Sprinkle the chicken with any remaining crumb mixture so they are generously coated.

3. Bake uncovered in a 375 degree F oven for 45 -55 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Do not turn chicken while baking. Makes 6 servings.

4. NOTE: To make your own tenders, simple cut 1-1/2 lbs of boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves lengthwise into 1-in strips.

5. Oven-fried Parmesan Chicken: Prepare as above, except omit thyme and salt and reduce the corn flakes to 1/2 cup. For coating, combine cornflakes, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 t. dried oregano, crushed, the paprika and pepper. Stir in melted butter. Continue as above.

6. Oven fried chicken breast tenders: Prepare as above, except substitute 1-1/2 lbs chicken tenders for meaty chicken pieces. Increase crushed cornflakes to 1-3/4 cups and place tenders in a single layer on baking pan. Do not turn tenders while baking.


I hope that you enjoy this as much as my family did! My husband is a fan of all those home-cooked, Southern style meals! Since I don't have a deep fryer, I've had to learn to pan fry and over fry chicken for him. This is definitely the best recipe for oven fried that I've tried yet! We enjoyed it with home-made mashed potatoes, green beans and steamed carrots.

Happy cooking everyone!