Ain't No Thang but a Chicken Wing

Throughout my whole life, I have had a love/hate relationship with food.  Let's just call it a personal problem.  When I tasted something that I liked, oh boy, I was eating every bit of it, and don't even try to stop me.  Everyone has things that they struggle with, and one of mine is food.

When I was growing up, I didn't understand the relationship between food and weight gain.  All I knew is that I would rather eat seafood Alfredo than a grilled chicken salad.  As I grew older, my love for food remained, but I learned how to balance my love for food and my desire for healthy living.  I have so much fun taking comfort foods and making them fit into my lifestyle.  

One of my favorite comfort food transformations is my Baked Fried Chicken.  It is crunchy, juicy, and delicious.  It is tried and true, but more importantly, it is way fewer calories than the deep fried variety.

I use the drumsticks because they are my sweetie's favorite, but I have quite a few friends that don't eat chicken off the bone (crazy, right?) and you can easily substitute chicken breasts, tenderloins, thighs...anything!  Just adjust the cooking time according to what you are using.  Chicken breasts and wings cook in about 30 minutes and legs and thighs take about 45-50 minutes.

Ingredients:

6-8 chicken pieces

1 cup of greek yogurt

1 cup of milk/lowfat buttermilk

2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper

1 cup of panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, grated

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried oregano

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Btw...I didn't want to post any step by step pics since the chicken doesn't look very appetizing until the end.

Step 1:
Remove the skin from your chickens.  Most of the fat is in the skin, and I try to trim as much animal fat as I can.

Step 2:
Put chicken in a bowl with one cup of greek yogurt, one cup of milk or lowfat buttermilk, 2 minced cloves of garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Let it marinade for 30 minutes or overnight.

Step 3:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a ziplock bag combine one cup of panko bread crumbs, half a cup of parmesan, one tsp each of dried rosemary and oregano, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in the breadcrumb mixture.  Shake N' Bake time!

Step 4:
Place the coated chicken on a cookie sheet, and put in the oven for 15 minutes if you are using breasts/wings and 25 minutes if you are using legs/thighs.  Flip the chicken and put back in the oven to finish the cooking for another 20-25 minutes.  The house is going to fill with a wonderful and comforting aroma, and when the chicken comes out of the oven it is going to be a beautiful, crispy brown.