I was feeling the fried chicken last night but, not only is frying not the healthiest alternative, I also pretty much suck at it. While there is nothing that compares to my Daddy's (and my Grandpa's) fried chicken and I would drop all restrictions to eat it, I have mastered the art of crispy, crunchy oven fried chicken.
I had 4 chicken thighs still in the freezer = $1.85 (way cheaper than the Colonel's.)
PERFECT OVEN FRIED CHICKEN
1 cup of flour
3 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons cajun spice (use season salt if you don't like spicy)
*For the healthiest alternative peel the skin off the chicken and/or use skinless breasts (I am a skin eater.)
Wash your chicken pieces and let them sit on a plate on some paper towels to dry.
1. Turn your oven on to 425 (it is best to use pan with a cooking rack that keeps the meat out of its own greases. I use a regular 9 by 13 and place the metal rack from my microwave over it.) Spray the rack with a non-stick spray like Pam (preferrably store brand because it is cheaper.) Place pan and rack in oven to heat up while you are preparing the chicken.
2. Whisk all ingredients together in a medium size bowl...make sure it is well mixed to avoid clumps of seasoning on your chicken.
3. Dredge each piece of chicken in your flour mixture and place on a clean dry plate.
4. When all chicken is coated, very carefully and using tongs, place the chicken on the hot rack in the oven.
If you left the skin on, place them skin side down at this time...this will get you the crunchiest skin.
**DO NOT TRY TO TAKE RACK AND PAN OUT OF OVEN, IT'S TOO HOT! JUST OPEN THE DOOR AND PULL OUT THE OVEN RACK AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
5. Bake chicken for 25 minutes then flip them over and cook for 15 minutes. If you are using boneless breasts then cut cooking time by ten minutes (5 off of each side.)
YOU KNOW I AM ALL ABOUT SAVING MONEY AND SINCE I WAS ALREADY
USING MY OVEN IT WAS THE PERFECT NIGHT TO MAKE AND TRY
CRASH HOT POTATOES.
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| Great addition to our potato recipes.... just follow the link below! |
I only used 6 small potatoes (maybe $0.75 worth) and I pretty much followed the directions to the "T".....I did not have any Rosemary but, the mention of the holidays gave me the idea to sprinkle some ground sage on them and I baked them at 425 with the chicken. I won't call them perfect but, I will say that the potatoes disappeared pretty quickly and this will be a regular side dish in our house.
As always, I also made sure that we had fresh vegetables...I steamed some broccoli and summer squash, I did give into the taste bud devil and made a Velveeta cheese sauce to go on top, it was the perfect compliment to our dinner. The broccoli, summer squash and the amount of Velveeta together didn't even add up to $1.00
OUR DINNER LAST NIGHT COST LESS THAN $5.00!!!
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