Chicken Tenders and Sauce

You can say I was on a roll, but as soon as I was done frying up those bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers, I had a fan full of spicy bacon grease - what did I do? I made chicken tenders. May look messy, but they are so good.

2 large chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
Italian Spices, Cayenne, Salt and Pepper
1 cup of bread crumbs and 1/2 cup flour

1.) In a small cup, mix milk and egg.
2.) In a dish mix, milk bread crumbs, flour and spices
3.) Dip chicken in egg batter then crumb mix
4.) Place in hot skillet over medium high and cook until crispy and golden.

The Sauce, basically my fridge door "secret sauce"

Little Mayo
Little Mustard
Little Ketchup
Little Tapatio
Pepper, Salt and Cayenne - as needed.

Stand in front of the fridge as you mix these together. Add some pickle relish if you dare.

Chicken Pasta with Spinich

Simple meals with simple ingredients. I find that the best way to lose weight and feel better is to make your own food using healthy ingredients. I've been making this dish for years, adapting it to the fresh vegetables I have on hand, so make it your own!

2 tbsp of Olive oil or 2 pats of butter
2 tbsp of diced garlic
1/4 - 1/2 Sweet Yellow Onion
1-2 cups of diced tomatoes (I used Roma)
Italian Spices, Rosemary, Salt and Pepper
3-4 cups spinach, diced into smaller pieces
1 can of vegetable broth mixed with 1 can water or approximately 3-4 cups of water with a veg-bullion cube.

4 Chicken Breasts
Ground Cumin, Italian Spices and Cayenne

1 box or bag of pasta (I used rotini, anything works)
Boiling Water

In one large sauce pan add the garlic and onion with a couple pats of butter or olive oil. Add tomatoes and let saute in butter with onions and garlic. Add Italian Spices, Rosemary, Salt and Pepper. Let cook a minute or two and add vegetable broth. Let boil and cook while you prepare the other items.

Grill or pan fry chicken separately until golden and cooked til tender. This will be added to the sauce, but wants to be cooked and diced beforehand.

Boil pasta, I use rotini since it's simple to eat with the sauce. Any pasta works though. Follow directions per individual pasta type.

Okay... now we are almost ready. Add Spinach to sauce and it will quickly cook up. This is why we add it last. Once that's in and covered, add chicken and let simmer for a couple minutes. Once your sauce looks good, toss in the pasta and remove from heat.

Add Parmesan and Pepper Flakes if you like. :)

Grilled Fried Chicken Tenders

I suppose you can say these are healthier than fried chicken and I absolutely love making them.

3-4 Chicken Breasts cut up into small pieces
2-3 cups of breadcrumbs (Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs work well)
2 Eggs
1/8 cup of milk
Italian Seasonings, Cayenne Pepper, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper

Cut chicken up into pieces that make it easy to cook thoroughly (not too thick)
Prepare Egg and Milk dip by mixing them together in a small bowl
Mix all herbs with the breadcrumbs in a dish
Dip the chicken in the milk and egg and then the breadcrumbs, covering the whole piece.
Place Chicken on a greased pan or non-stick grill. Cook on one side until golden and cooked 1/2 way before turning over. That ensures that each side gets cooked without flipping and flipping away.

Enjoy!

Additions to a good meal

As I'm making dinner there are some highlights to a meal, the main dish and then there are the extras that just make it.

So far, I made the Pico De Gallo, Gallo Pinto, then stuffed them into peppers. I needed a few additions to this already yummy meal So I made Platanos Maduros, Grilled Chicken Breast and Fried Cheese with Tortillas. Here are those simple recipes.

Grilled Platanos Maduros:
* 3-4 Plantains, preferanly dark and bruisy.
* Butter / Oil for pan (I use less and a non-stick grill) First you have to buy almost the blackest of the bananas. I know it seems icky, but these are sweeter and softer and grill better. I cut the plantains with a small sharp knife cut ends from each plantain and halve crosswise. Cut a lengthwise slit through skin along inside curve. Beginning in center of slit pry skin from plantain and with rippled blade of a mandoline or decorating knife cut flesh crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

On a flat grill or large deep skillet heat the oil or butter to 350°F and fry 12 to 15 plantain slices at a time, turning them, 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden, transferring as fried with a skimmer or slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Season plantain slices with salt. (Plantain slices should be slightly crisp on outside but soft on inside.)

Grilled Chicken:
* 2-3 Chicken Breasts, cut in halves
* Ground Cumin
* Cayenne Pepper
* Olive oil
* Sea Salt
* Lemon Pepper
* Lemon (couple wedges)

I like to marinate my chicken for a few minutes while getting the grill ready. I use a non-stick grill pan. I cut the breasts in large chunks to cook faster but not so small that they cook too fast and lose the tenderness. I try to cook one side so that the meat is cooked about half way through before flipping over. After the chicken is thoroughly cooked. I remove and chop up fajita style.


Fried Cheese and Tortillas:

Although I didn't make the cheese or tortillas, getting the right additions is everything. For the Fry-able cheese you have to go to a Mexican Grocery store and ask for Queso Para Freir. It is a harder cheese that will grill nicely. Leave it too long in the pan and it will melt away.

I got my cheese here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/san-francisco-farmers-market-san-francisco#hrid:98ig2fmUHxH6uJJpS24Hlg