Thursday, February 5, 2009

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Prep/Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

one pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Place eggs in a shallow bowl and cheese in a second bowl. Dip chicken into egg, then roll in cheese. Place in a baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.

Bake, covered, at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove foil or lid for last ten minutes of baking.

Tips and Tricks
Line your baking pan with foil for easy clean up. Cut chicken into strips to reduce baking time.
Make It Healthier
Omit salt
How Kids Can Help
Older kids can shred cheese.

Monday, February 2, 2009

General Tso's Chicken

Prep: 2 hours, including marinating
Yield: 6 servings

1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 eggs, beaten
5 teaspoons cornstarch, for sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch, for breading
5 tablespoons rice vinegar
6 1/2 tablespoons rice wine
1/2 cup sugar (I have used honey successfully)
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 cup oil (for frying)
red pepper flakes(to taste, approx 1-2 tsp)


Chop chicken into 1 inch cubes

Mix rice vinegar, rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, 2 Tbsp Sesame oil, and red pepper flakes to taste. Add to this the cubes of chicken, cover and let marinate in refrigerator 1 hour.

Remove chicken from the marinade. Set aside.

Take the marinade and add to it the 5 tsp Cornstarch and 1/2 cup sugar. Then whisk it together.

In a large sauce pan bring the marinade (now General Tso's Sauce) to boiling over medium low heat. It should be thick when done. Then remove from heat.

Beat two eggs, and toss chicken cubes in the beaten egg, covering all sides with egg. Then toss the chicken in the 1/2 cup cornstarch to lightly cover. Shake off the excess. (I usually do the corn starch in a large ziploc bag)

Heat 1/2 cup oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add chicken and brown on all sides.

When all sides are browned, place the chicken into the sauce and heat over low for 3-5 minutes until everything is heated through. (I usually add some fresh broccoli florets when I add the chicken to the sauce...the broccoli cooks while the rest heats up.