Panko Crusted Oven Baked Chicken

Ok. Let's not talk about the fact that my plate looks like it's from 1982. Or that my photography skills leave a LOT to be desired, as do my photo editing skills. And, let's not talk about the bad lighting, either.

Here's what we do need to talk about. This freakin' amazing chicken. I mean, it's oven baked and it's CRUNCHY. How the hell did that happen? I just finished eating, and I'm already dreaming up other ideas. This was my first time cooking with Panko - a Japanese breadcrumb. It's pretty easy to work with, and tastes really good as the crust on this chicken! This recipe is not too shabby health-wise, too. You can make it even more low fat by spraying your baking sheet with cooking spray instead of using the olive oil. I just didn't have any on hand. I wouldn't switch out the olive oil when browning the Panko, though.

I got the recipe idea from Annie over at Annie's Eats. She's much better in the photography department, and she's way better at this blogging thing, so it won't hurt my feelings at all if you just follow her recipe.

I adapted the recipe slightly for my tastes, but I kept most of it the same.

Panko Crusted Oven Baked Chicken

• 2 C Panko breadcrumbs


• 1 T Olive oil


• 1/2 C Flour


• 1 T Fajita Seasoning


• 3 Egg whites


• 1 T Dijon mustard


• 1 T water


• 1 T Olive oil


• 1.5 Pounds chicken tenders

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.


2. Coat a large baking sheet or flat pan with one tablespoon of olive oil. If needed, you can use more. You want the sheet to be evenly coated, but not swimming in oil.


3. Mix the Panko and the first two tablespoons of olive oil until the Panko is evenly coated. Brown the Panko mixture over medium to medium high heat. Stir the mixture pretty regularly. I had to keep a close eye on mine to keep the Panko from burning. Once the mixture is brown - around 8 minutes, place it in a shallow dish and allow it to cool a little.


4. In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites, mustard, and water. Don't get grossed out at how weird this looks.


5. In another shallow dish, mix together the flour and fajita spice.


6. Ok, it's assembly line time. Arrange your station like so - chicken, flour mixture, egg mixture, Panko mixture, and greased baking sheet.


7. Now, you dip and shake it off down the line. I didn't shake too much on the Panko mixture. I like my chicken with a lot of crust. Your fingers are going to get crusty and gross. Just keep a wet napkin near by to clean them off.


8. Once your oven is ready, pop in the baking dish with the pretty chicken tenders. Allow the tenders to cook for about 15 minutes, more or less, depending on the size of the tenders. I flipped mine over halfway through cooking, but I don't think that was really necessary.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

These are yummy and easy. They are always a crowd pleaser, and make you look like a great cook! Serve with a side salad and some squash fries for an easy meal. You can also do this same recipe with zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash, tomatoes, you get the idea.

 

Makes: ~ 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 
  
  2 tablespoons olive oil


• 
  
  1 lb. ground meat 93% fat free


• 
  
  ½ cup onion, diced


• 
  
  ½ teaspoon garlic powder


• 
  
  6 medium bell peppers, tops removed and seeds removed (reserve tops)


• 
  
  2 cups spaghetti sauce

 

Directions:

1. 
   

   Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

   
   


2. 
   

   Wash bell peppers. Cut off the tops and remove the seeds from the peppers. Save the tops.

   
   


3. 
   

   Chop up the tops of the peppers.

   
   


4. 
   

   Heat sauce pan on medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan.

   
   


5. 
   

   Brown meat, peppers, and onions for about 15 minutes, or until the meat is browned and onions are translucent.

   
   


6. 
   

   Add garlic powder to the pan and mix together.

   
   


7. 
   

   Mix about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce into meat mixture.

   
   


8. 
   

   Place bell peppers in a baking dish.

   
   


9. 
   

   Spoon the meat mixture into the peppers.

   
   


10. 
    

    Bake the peppers at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

    
    


11. 
    

    Just before serving, heat the remaining spaghetti sauce, and serve the peppers topped with the remaining spaghetti sauce. Each pepper is one serving.

    
    

Tips ‘n’ Tricks:

• 
  
  Don't let the number of steps fool you here - this recipe is EASY. Give it a try!


• 
  
  This is another recipe that’s easy to customize to your family’s tastes. Pick a vegetabe - any vegetable, and you can probably stuff it.


• 
  
  If the tops of the peppers start cooking too fast or looking dried out, just cover the baking dish with foil and keep baking.

Crystal's Turkey Sausage

This is an awesome make-ahead breakfast sausage. It’s easy to adapt to the spices you like, too. I like to cook mine crumbled instead of patties and almost burned. (But that’s the Cajun in me…) Oh, I also add mushrooms to mine, but I’m weird like that.

Makes: ~ 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 
  
  1 lb. ground meat 93% fat free


• 
  
  1/3 onion, shredded


• 
  
  1 carrot, shredded


• 
  
  1 medium apple, shredded


• 
  
  ½ teaspoon garlic powder


• 
  
  1 teaspoon dried parsley

 Directions:

1. 
   

   Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Divide into four equal patties.

   
   


2. 
   

   Heat sauce pan on medium-high heat.

   
   


3. 
   

   Brown patties for about 7 minutes on each side, or until they are cooked through. Each patty is one serving.

   
   

Tips ‘n’ Tricks:

• 
  
  Make these up on the weekend, and store them in individual sized baggies for a grab-n-go breakfast.


• 
  
  You can completely customize the spices and vegetables to what your family prefers - try a Mexican themed sausage with cumin, chili powder, jalapeno peppers, and tomatoes.


• 
  
  Need a non-paleo idea? Chop one of these bad boys up and stuff it in a pita or tortilla with a little cheese - instant bliss.

Baked Cabbage Rolls

 

Yummy and easy to make!

Makes: ~ 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat (turkey, beef or pork) 93% fat free

1 jar Bertolli spaghetti sauce (I use the olive oil, basil, garlic organic kind)

1 head of cabbage

½ teaspoon garlic powder

 

Directions:

1. 
   

   Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

   
   


2. 
   

   Wash the cabbage thoroughly.

   
   


3. 
   

   Steam the cabbage. Place cabbage in large pot with lid and fill with about 1 inch of water. Heat pot on high heat until water boils. Keep the lid on the pot to make sure the steam really works. Steam for about 7 minutes.

   
   


4. 
   

   While the cabbage is steaming, spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

   
   


5. 
   

   Place ground meat in a medium-sized bowl.

   
   


6. 
   

   Add about ¾ cup of the spaghetti sauce and the garlic powder into the ground meat.

   
   


7. 
   

   Mix the meat mixture.

   
   


8. 
   

   Remove cabbage from pot (carefully – cabbage will be hot).

   
   


9. 
   

   Remove the limp cabbage leaves and set aside. You will need to cut the leaves near the core on the bottom of the cabbage head. If you cannot remove 12-15 leaves, then remove as many as you can and re-steam the rest of the cabbage head until you get about 12-15 leaves.

   
   


10. 
    

    Take one cabbage leaf and place about 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture into the leaf. Roll the leaf like a taco or burrito, tucking in the sides of the leaf.

    
    


11. 
    

    Place the cabbage roll into the greased baking dish with the seam side down.

    
    


12. 
    

    Continue making cabbage rolls until the pan is full.

    
    


13. 
    

    Pour about ½ cup of spaghetti sauce over the cabbage rolls.

    
    


14. 
    

    Place foil tightly over the pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

    
    


15. 
    

    Just before serving, heat the remaining spaghetti sauce, and serve it with the baked cabbage rolls. Each serving is about two cabbage rolls.

    
    

Tips ‘n’ Tricks:

• 
  
  Don't be intimidated by the number of steps here - this is really easy to make!