Suck it, Rachel Ray!

This recipe is inspired by Awkward Mom (seriously, read her blog!) and her trials and tribulations preparing a nice meal for her family.

Oven-Fried Chicken with Warm Dijon, Sauteed Asparagus and Smashed Chive Potatoes

Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts  (Save time with Perdue Fit & Easy or Market Day Chick'n Steaks - just be sure to cut off any extra "bits" like connective tissue...eww)

1 egg, beaten

1 tbs water

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbs cajun seasoning (mix of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, dried mustard - I use Emeril's)

3 cups Panko (Japanese style) breadcrumbs

1. Crank the oven to 400, line a cookie sheet with aluminium foil

2. Remove chicken from package, rinse with water, and pat dry

3. Scramble egg with water in a bowl large enough to dip the chicken

4.Pour the 1 1/2 cups Panko on a paper plate or wax paper

5. Dip chicken in egg wash, let excess drip off, and place on Panko.  Repeat with all chicken.

6. Sprinkle each breast with cajun season and garlic powder

7. Pour remaining Panko on top of breasts, then smoosh well to ensure breadcrumbs stick to egg wash

8.  Place on foil-covered sheet and bake for approximately 20 - 25 minutes (depending on thickness).  Test temp with instead read thermometer just to be sure.

*Note: the Panko will not brown very much - UNLESS you drizzle a little melted butter or olive oil on top.  This is more of a personal thing

Smashed Potatoes

(Before prepping chicken, get a pot of water going on the stove)

Approximately 1/2  - 1 lbs of small red boiler potatoes (depending on how many taters your family likes to eat), unpeeled and roughly an inch in diameter - though you should cut bigger ones in half to ensure even cooking

salt

pepper

1/4 cup cream cheese (lite or regular)

2 tsp freshly chopped chives (I s'pose you could use dried chives, but why?)

1. In theory, the water should be boiling by the time you get the chicken in the oven.  Drop those unpeeled red taters in the water.  Don't forget to salt the water!

2. Boil vigorously for about 15 minutes; they should be fork tender

3. Drain and return to pot

4. Drop in cream cheese and start mashing; the cheese should melt and make everything nice and creamy

5. Add salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle chives and stir

Sauteed Asparagus

1 bunch (approx 1 lb) asparagus

1 tbs olive oil (eyeball it)

1 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

1. Trim woody ends off asparagus and chop remainder into 1" long pieces

2. Place asparagus in quart freezer bag, pour olive oil and seasoning on top.  Seal bag and squish around so everything is coated

3. Get a pan going over medium heat and saute those asparagus buggers 

4. Asparagus will turn bright green when done and the tips should have a slight char on them; they should still have a bite but not be raw or conversely, all flaccid.  Nobody likes flaccid.

Warm Dijon Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt (Greek-style if you want your sauce thicker)

2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning

1. In microwave-safe container, warm ingredients - about 2 1/2  minutes at 50% power.  Stir often to ensure uniform warming.  You could do this in a saucepan, but it's a little harder to control the heat.

Hopefully, everything has finished cooking at the same time, but that depends on several factors (thickness of chicken, children needing attention, etc).  If your spouse hasn't arrived or you need to watch your child re-enact Rapunzel letting down her hair, just turn the asparagus burner off.  You can re-warm when you're ready to eat.  Also, the chicken can stay in the oven, provided you turn off the oven and cover them with foil.  Taters can also be re-warmed in the pot on low heat.

However, if you need to put everything in the fridge because someone's really late for dinner, make a little plate, excluding the sauce, and cover it loosely with foil - too tight and the chicken will get soggy.  When it's time to zap in the microwave, cover the plate with a loose paper towel and warm for about 2-3 minutes at 80% power.  Then do the sauce the same as you did before.

Now why did I use yogurt instead of mayo or making my own cream sauce?  A couple reasons - yogurt has a tangy quality that goes nicely with the spicy chicken and it mellows out the strength of the dijon.  Also, yogurt is a more healthful choice than mayo or bechamel.  I've learned that eating healthfully does not mean a sauceless life - you just have to edit or replace ingredients to make what you love better for you.  My husband, who was raised on fast food, loves my chicken dishes - and I haven't fried a piece of chicken for years!