No matter how hot it was outside or inside, the sizzling sound and the mouth-watering smell of my grandma’s fried chicken would draw you into her kitchen. She used a huge cast iron skillet that was so heavy it would crush your foot if you dropped it. When she got too old to wield that deadly skillet she bought a heavy-duty electric skillet. She was a firm believer in substantial cookware and cooking.
Grandma used the freshest chicken available. For many years of her life freshest meant chicken from her own backyard. But by the time we grandkids arrived on the scene, much to our disappointment, the backyard chickens were long gone. Although, the chickens were gone the stories were not and from time to time my grandparents would remind us about how easy we grandkids had it. They relished telling us of their experiences of living through the Great Depression. They lived through some hard times but would say they always had something to eat even if it was just beans. When they got their own chickens it gave them a sense of security to see those chickens pecking around in their backyard. Once a week there would be a “fine chicken dinner” the old school way!
The old school way went like this: Grandpa would go out to the chicken pen and decide which chicken’s number was up and then quickly dispatch it. Then Grandma would take care of the rest. The rest entailed plucking, gutting, cleaning and cooking. I would share the gory details but I don’t want to ruin your appetite for chicken.
Along with the home grown chicken, Grandma used fresh buttermilk, flour, seasonings, and lots of fluffy white Crisco to “fry her up” some crispy, perfect chicken. There was no written down recipe! She had a way with fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, pies, burnt sugar cake….
While I love the memories of my grandma and her fried chicken, I don’t love the artery clogging fats and extra calories. I also don’t love the idea of killing and cleaning chicken. For this recipe a nice lean, skinless, store-bought chicken breast is all you need to hunt down. Better yet, this recipe for oven-fried chicken will satisfy the yen for fried. Using a meat pounder will satisfy the yen for stress management. All in all, this easy heart healthy recipe will give you delicious chicken that is crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth tender on the inside. My grandma Ellen would have loved it.
Heart Healthy Oven Fried Chicken*
*Recipe adapted from the South Beach Diet Cookbook by way of my step-mom, Doris.
Makes 4 -6 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 22 -25 minutes
Ingredients:
1-cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (This recipe is great with whole wheat breadcrumbs, but you can use white if you prefer. I make my own breadcrumbs. Simply tear up one slice of bread at a time add to the blender and pulse for 10 seconds. This recipe uses 3 large slices of bread.)
¼ cup finely chopped almonds
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
1 -2 cloves of garlic, minced (Garlic powder or freeze dried garlic may be used if fresh is unavailable.)
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (These will be pounded to ½ inch thickness and sliced into 12 pieces.)
Directions:
Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Next, with a meat pounder pound each breast until it is ½ inch thick. Why pound the already dead chicken? This procedure, which takes only a few minutes, helps to tenderize the chicken plus create a uniform size for even cooking. It is also very therapeutic if you’ve had a hard day and need to work off some stress!
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, almonds, cheese, herbs and seasonings mixing well.
Add oil to a shallow dish for dipping the chicken. Next dip each piece of chicken in the oil and then dredge each piece in the seasoned crumb mixture. Place dredged chicken in a shallow baking dish. I use a jellyroll pan and lightly spray it with olive or canola oil.
Bake chicken for 22 -25 minutes. The crumbs should be a deep golden brown. If you are unsure if the chicken is thoroughly cooked, check with a meat thermometer looking for a temp of 170 degrees. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, cut one piece in half. If the juices are clear the meat is done.
Side dish suggestions: Grilled veggies (eggplant, green and red peppers, zucchini squash), or mashed potatoes, or polenta, or pasta with a marinara sauce, and a fresh green salad
Chef By Necessity 
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