"Fried" Panko Chicken Tenders

If you're like me you've seen lots of recipes that call for panko breadcrumbs and figured "What's the difference?" I would just use my regular breadcrumbs and never know the difference -- now I know the difference! The instructions in the original recipe said not to skip any steps in order to get a good crunchy coating so I figured I'd better give it a try.

The result was a delicious, crunchy coating with a moist chicken tender just right for dipping in the spicy Cajun-Creole sauce.

This recipe comes from the book Cooking Light - Fresh Food Fast.

"Fried" Panko Chicken Tenders

1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tender (about 12 tenders)

Cooking spray

Cajun-Creole Dipping Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine panko, pepper, and salt in a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk into another shallow dish.
3. Dip chicken in buttermilk; dredge in panko mixture, pressing firmly to coat. Shake off excess panko mixture. Place chicken on a wire rack; let stand 10 minutes. While chicken stands, place a jelly-roll pan in oven to heat.
4. Coat chicken well with cooking spray. Remove hot pan from oven; coat with cooking spray. Arrange chicken in a single layer on pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 23 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned. Serve with Cajun-Creole dipping Sauce. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3 chicken tenders and 2 tablespoons dipping sauce).

Nutrition info: calories 310; fat 3g; protein 44g; carbohydrates 23.8g; fiber 0.8g; chol 99mg; iron 1.3mg; sodium 666mg; calcium 76mg

Cajun-Creole Dipping Sauce

6 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt-free Cajun-Creole seasoning

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/16 teaspoon salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until blended. Yield: 1/2 cup (serving size:; 2 tablespoons)

Nutrition Info: calories 23; fat 0g; protein 0g; carb 6.1g; fiber 0g; chol 0mg; iron 0mg; sodium 374mg; calcium 1mg

My Notes:

1. I didn't have any buttermilk on hand, so I made my own. Just take 1 cup of nonfat milk and add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice, then let sit for 5 minutes.
2. I also didn't have any chicken "tenders", so I just sliced some chicken breasts into strips.
3. Since this was meal was for my daughter's birthday, we had corn-on-the-cob and green salad as side dishes -- her favs!

Positive thought for the day: "Don’t cry because it is over. Smile because it happened." –Dr. Seuss

Superfast Chicken Posale

The first time I ever ate Posale was at a church function a few years ago. The ladies from the Hispanic branch made this soup for their function and, after eating my first bowl, I fell in love! It's basically chicken soup with a kick.

I've never tried making the traditional recipe, but after reading this recipe at CookingLight.com I new I needed to give it a try. This recipe was listed in their "Quick & Easy - 20 minute recipes." The rotisserie chicken makes it super easy and "superfast."

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (8-ounce) package prechopped onion and celery mix
• 4 canned tomatillos, drained and coarsely chopped
• 2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can white hominy, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 ripe peeled avocado, diced
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• Cilantro leaves (optional)

Preparation

• 1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oregano and next 4 ingredients (through onion and celery mix); sauté 2 minutes.
• 2. Stir in tomatillos; cook 1 minute. Add broth and hominy; cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook 8 minutes.
• 3. Stir in chicken; cook 1 minute or until heated. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice, salt, and pepper. Divide evenly among 4 bowls. Top with avocado and radish. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.
• 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups soup, 2 tablespoons avocado, and 1 radish)
• 
  
• Nutrition: Calories 290; Fat 11.2g; Protein 28.2g; Carbohydrates 20.2g; Fiber 4.5g; Iron 2.4mg; Sodium 452mg; Calcium 62mg

My Notes:

1. I chopped my own onion and celery and didn't purchase the pre-chopped stuff.

2. I used parsley instead of cilantro since Dayle's not a fan of cilantro. It was nice to have a bit of green color though.

3. It might be hard to find the tomatillos. I found them in the Mexican food aisle at Von's.

4. I think I might add more hominy next time - yum!

5. I added tortilla strips for some added crunch and flavor. I just thinly sliced some corn tortillas, sprayed them with cooking spray, and then baked them at 400 degrees until crisp. Sprinkle with salt afterwards.

Positive thought for the day:

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind." - William James

Easy Boston-Style Baked Beans

This is a recipe that we have made quite often. It's easy to prepare and really yummy -- especially on a cold, rainy day. I found the original recipe on a Splenda recipe card. I've adapted it a bit to make it simpler to prepare. I love recipes that you can pop in the oven and let cook while you get to go do something else instead of standing in front of the stove!

Easy Boston-Style Baked Beans

3 (15 oz) cans navy beans, or white beans

1 (15oz) can light kidney beans

3/4 cup real bacon bits (or cooked bacon)

1 medium onion

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/3 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated

2 tablespoons robust molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Drain beans and reserve 1 1/4 cups liquid.
3. Place all of the ingredients into a 3-quart baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Serve with corn bread and honey butter.

Nutrition info: Calories 140, protein 9g, fat 3g, carbohydrates 21g, fiber 5g, cholesterol 5mg, sodium 520mg, sugar 3g

Positive thought for the day: Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours. Swedish Proverb

Chile Lime Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cream

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted anything, but I have such a great recipe today that I had to make sure I got on and posted this one. Danielle and I have been trying to prepare some new recipes to see if we can add some different healthy items to our regular dinner choices. Quite frankly, we have had made some real duds lately! Last night I made one with chicken, wild rice, and a mustard/orange marmalade sauce - which you'd think sounds pretty good, but I was embarrassed to serve it! My family ate it though and said it wasn't so bad -- keep 'em hungry enough and they'll eat anything!! :)

The recipe I made tonight redeems me from my previous flop. I found this one in my Cooking Light magazine and I was pretty sure that it'd be delicious. The recipe calls for Ancho Chile Powder, but after looking in three different stores I just decided to use a combination of regular chile powder and a spicy mexican pepper blend. I love the combination of chile and lime, and with the addition of the avocado cream - which has lime in it as well - it's a real keeper!

The Cooking Light magazine calls this "Ancho Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream":

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch strips

3/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Cooking spray

1/8 teaspoon grated lime rind

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided

1/4 cup light sour cream

2 tablespoons 1% low fat milk

1/2 ripe peeled avocado, diced

2 cups packaged angel hair slaw

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 (6 inch) tortillas

1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with chile powder, garlic salt, and cumin. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes; stirring frequently. Remove chicken from pan.

2. Combine rind, 1 tablespoon juice, and next 3 ingredients (through avocado) in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

3. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon juice, slaw, onions, cilantro, oil, and salt, tossing to coat.

4. Heat tortillas according to directions.(I just heated them over the burner on the stove.) Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas. Top each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon avocado mixture and 1/4 cup slaw mixture. (this is the yummy stuff!)

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)

Calories 319; Fat 11.6g; Protein 30g; Carb 25.3g; Fiber 5.1g; Chol 72mg; Iron 1.3mg; Sodium 385mg; Calc 80mg

Happy thought for the day: " If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~Dalai Lama