Why did the chicken cross the road? To jump in my oven!

First of all I’d like to announce that I have lost 2lbs. I am at 269.2 now! I still have a long way to go but I’ll get there.

Living in the south its very hard to not have fried food. Down here we like to fry everything including candy bars. I can’t lie I’ve tasted a fried candy bar before and I didn’t like it much so I don’t have worry about ever feeling a loss of not being able to eat that again. However, it is hard to grow up spending years of my life eating fried chicken and the though of never eating it again is just too heart wrenching. I mean its a staple down here. How can you be a born and raised southerner and not like something fried?! Mmmm fried chicken, mashed potatoes, black eyed peas, and gravy. Oh my mouth is drooling thinking of it. Anyway, I have gotten around the fried chicken thing with one of my favorite Weight Watcher’s recipes. It’s called Southern-Style Oven-Fried Chicken and its very simple. No it doesn’t taste the same but its a good substitute. In fact, since I’ve been eating it I prefer it more b/c its so juicy and you still get that nice crunch without all the greasiness from pan frying or deep frying. 

My parents are the meat and taters kind of people so, of course, when I go home to visit I get helpings of homemade dishes and the last time I had fried chicken I got sick. Yes sick, after cutting out all that grease from my diet for a year now it made me sick eating it. I tasted the grease more than the chicken and trust me my folks can cook. I learned my passion of cooking from my parents. They always shared the kitchen and made it a wonderful experience in my lifetime. The heart of the home is in the kitchen in my family and it stands true even with my husband. We both share the cooking duties and do it together. My dad liked to experiment with new things and my mother would make the classic staples like the biscuits and gravy and anything else that would make you “slap yo grandma!” So you can see my dilemma when it comes to the amazing southern food that exists! 

After that discovery of not liking the old classicly fried chicken anymore I went looking for a recipe that was close to how it used to taste without all the grease. I would try frying it myself without as much grease but it just didn’t work. I couldn’t get the outside crispy enough or the inside would be so dry. I finally stumbled upon the best recipe I’ve found so far on the Weight Watcher’s website. Which I have to say is an amazing resource if you can afford it I say pay for it just for the recipes alone. Anyway, this is a very good simple recipe and its a good substitute. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to have classic fried chicken again without getting sick from the grease and fat but at least I can enjoy a good second place.

The recipe is really simple this is what you'll need:

1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, 4 oz pieces

1/2 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour

3 oz buttermilk (I use 1 egg white instead because I am lactose-intolerant)

1/2 cup(s) cornflake crumbs

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly coat a 13 x 8 x 12 inch baking dish (I use a pyrex dish) with cooking spray

Season chicken with salt and cayenne pepper to taste, set aside.

Combine flour, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper together in a medium-size bowl. Place buttermilk (egg white) and cornflake crumbs in 2 separate shallow bowls.

Dredge chicken in flour mixture and evenly coat both sides. Next, dip chicken into buttermilk (egg white) and turn to coat both sides. Last, dredge chicken in cornflake crumbs and turn to coat both sides.

Place coated chicken breasts in prepared baking dish. Bake until chicken is tender and no longer pink in center, about 25-30 mins (there is no need to flip the chicken during baking). Yields 1 chicken breast per serving. 

Yes my hair is green lol

See!

As stated before you can substitute the buttermilk with 1 egg white instead. If you are on Weight Watchers the servings are 5 points a piece. So go ahead and add some black eyed peas and mashed potatoes but make sure those peas are fresh or frozen don’t get them from the can and don't over do it on the potatoes because they are starchy. There are too many preservatives in the canned vegetables and it adds to the calorie intake. I also recommend a good salad with this simply because it will help fill you up without a whole bunch of empty calories. 

While it cooks here’s a picture of my babies.

They like to watch us in the kitchen while we cook.

Here is a picture of the finished product. We had a salad and baked beans with it today. Baked beans aren’t a normal thing on our menu but hubby wanted some so we treated ourselves. The plate in the picture contains 2 pieces of chicken but we only ate one. The whole dinner consisted of; 1 piece of Southern-style Oven-fried chicken, 3 cups of salad, 2 tbsp of fat free italian dressing, 1/2 cup of Bush’s vegetarian fat free baked beans and it was all 10 points on Weight Watchers. 

Enjoy!

-Ashley