A chicken cutlet crusted in parmesan breadcrumbs. Roasted brussels sprouts and green onion smashed potatoes.
I'll try to keep this as brief as possible, lol. I'll start with the chicken. I purchased it in cutlets. Essentially that means the butcher took a boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut it into two pieces. That is absolutely something you can do yourself. Usually you'll see people set up what they call "breading stations". One thing you will learn about me is that I don't like dishes so I find very convenient ways of eliminating them, lol. I used a piece of plastic wrap long enough to fit the length of my corner and was ready to groove. At one end I took plain breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese (not the bottled variety), and dried italian herbs and mixed them thoroughly Next, on the other side of the plastic wrap I dried the chicken cutlets off because if they're too moist the mustard won't adhere properly. I used a spoon to smear dijon mustard on the breast so that when I placed them in the breadcrumbs, the crumbs have something to stick to thus breading the cutlet evenly. If you don't have any dijon mustard or just don't have an affinity for it, you can use ranch dressing or something of the sort. My system that was easiest was smearing one side, placing that side in the breadcrumbs, pressing firmly and then smearing the other side. I encourage you to find a system that works best for you. (By using the plastic wrap when you're done you can just fold it up and throw it away, WINNING!) I made sure my chicken was nice and coated and then we face the task of cooking it. You can place your breaded cutlets on a cookie sheet, spray both sides with non-stick spray and place in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 mins and cook them that way to make it completely healthy. Now, if you're looking to splurge a bit take a heavy bottomed skillet and get it smoking hot. Add a couple of shakes of olive oil and sear that chicken until it develops a golden crust. Flip it and then stick the skillet in a 400 degree oven for 10 mins. It will be crunchy and succulent in a way only frying can provide, lol.
Look at the golden, crispy goodness on that chicken! And those brussels sprouts are roasted to perfection!
For the sides, I used the same mashed potato recipe from my previous blog, I just added green onions and a small dollop of dijon mustard to them. For the brussels sprouts I sliced them in half, tossed them with olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper and Mrs Dash onion and herb blend. Placed them cut side down on a non-stick sprayed cookie sheet. You want to place them cut side down so while they're cooking that flat side can caramelize and get all types of good flavor. Right before I put it in a 425 degree oven, I gave it a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. As the sprouts cook they absorb that lemon juice and it takes them from tasty to spectacular. How long you cook them depends on your taste. I usually let my veggies go about 30 mins so that they can get a really deep flavor. That's a basic roasting recipe I use for MANY of my veggies. Broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash...almost any firm veggie you can think of.
That's pretty much it. I wanted to note that I didn't season my chicken cutlets before breading them because you won't need it. Dijon mustard is HIGHLY flavorful and seasoned. The parm in the breadcrumbs is also salty so you don't need extra salt unless that's what your palate desires.
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