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Posts Tagged ‘Oven’

Oven Fried Chicken

Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , on September 19, 2009 | 3 Comments »


See this button above? Stumble me, make my day!. Oh, and if you don’t know what stumbled upon is, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stumbleupon

I’ve been bad lately.  Like, really bad.  Cuban food, pizza, hot wings…I needed some detox.  However, the problem with being bad for so long leads you to crave more and more bad food.  Therefore, oven fried chicken was my compromise.  This recipe is pretty delicious and could be made with Fiber One instead of Panko (like in my oven fried zucchini recipe), but I cheated a bit (again) and went for the extra calories.

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See these two?  25 Years.  Pretty cute right?  This picture is from my cousin’s wedding where my “badness” began at the giant pasta bar during the cocktail hour.  And cheese bar.  And carving station.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup Italian style Panko (or plain Panko made “Italian” with oregano, basil, and other favs)
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili power (or more to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon chipoltle chili powder (or more, to taste)
  • 1/4 cup egg whites
  • splash milk
  • 2 chicken breasts, trimmed (Mine were about 6 ounces each, raw.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix Panko and chili powders in one bowl, and whisk egg whites and milk in another.  Dip chicken breasts in egg mixture, then roll in Panko mixture.  Place on greased sheet pan and bake for 10-15 minutes on each side, depending on how thick your chicken is.  Enjoy!

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If you end up using all the Panko, each chicken breast is about 250 calories.  Not the most low cal chicken breast, but still pretty delicious.  You can even see how crispy they get from here.  Also, there are plenty of things you can mix into the Panko based on your taste.  I was making these for Rico and he loves his chili, but you can use ranch dressing seasoning powder, mustard powder, cinnamon for a sweet flavor…endless possibilities.  Or, you can just eat the Panko straight because your boyfriend is home late from work.  Either or.

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Classic Pan to Oven Chicken

Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , on August 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »

I consider chicken the simplest of the proteins.  It has a naturally delicious flavor, and all the prep work really is done to supplement taste or add texture.  Over my many, many years, I’ve delved into different chicken techniques, but I definitely have a few favorites.  Pan to oven cooking of chicken never ceases to satisfy, plus it’s super easy. 

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So I promised myself I wouldn’t do any shopping for myself during the month of August, and it’s lead me to lust after Christian Louboutin’s since I would never spend that much on a shoe anyways.  However, if anyone really appreciates my recipes and is feeling generous…

Oh and yes, this has nothing to do wtih chicken.  Get over it.

I’ve never owned a cast iron pan before, but Rico luckily has one that he’s shared.  I’ve cooked many things on stainless steel pans and moved them into the oven after searing.  However, the cast iron pan has a little special flavor.  I’ll be honest; I am pretty freaked out by using a pan that you can never really clean, but it is growing on me.  I marinated the chicken overnight, and I definitely suggest it. 

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Delicious.  This recipe–a 5 ounce breast (weighed after cooking)–will put you back about 220 calories, but it’s a lot of food, pure lean, protein, as is great with a side of veggies.  I opted for green beans, NOT ZUCCHINI.  Ha, and you all say I can’t keep a promise.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup fat free Italian dressing (Or whatever marinade you want to use.)
  • 3-4 chicken breasts, around 6 ounces each
  • Cast iron or stainless steel pan (One that can go into the oven.)
  • Olive oil Pam

Put chicken and marinade in a Ziploc bag in the fridge overnight.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Heat pan on stove top and spray with Pam.  When hot, sear each side of the chicken breasts for 3 minutes.  Then, put the whole pan, chicken and all, into the oven for 7-8 minutes or until cooked through.  Pull out, and enjoy!

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Oven Fried Zucchini, Two Ways

Posted in Sides (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , , , on August 12, 2009 | 1 Comment »

So, this is a rough week.  One of the production guys from the office is on vacation.  Therefore, I’m stuck running not only morning and afternoon shifts, but the night shift as well.  My inability to engage in any social activities after work led to a promise to myself to only cook things for dinner, during the hour I have between the afternoon shift and the night shift, that I have never cooked before.  I thought this project would give my meaningless and painful week of life some meaning, and it has already been quite successful.  Through my blog searching, I saw many recipes for oven-fried chicken and such with Panko, so I decided it was time to try it out myself.  I also have been quite interested in the “Hungry Girl’s” (www.hungry-girl.com) approach to oven frying with Fiber One Cereal (Yay, fiber!) so I decided to spin that idea past ya’ll as well.  I also got to play a fun game with Rico called, “Guess what makes these crunchy?” He couldn’t guess, so I won.

.Picture 013 veg Here is my array of chopped zuchs.  I think the red tomato adds sort of a vampy flare, don’t you think?  OH MY GOD, I’M SO STIR CRAZY  Never ever work from 5 am to 9 pm.  Ever.

Oven Fried Zucchini (Panko-Style, Higher Cal)

  • 1 zucchini
  • 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup Panko crumbs, Italian-style
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Slice the zucchini into 2 inch long sticks, cutting the zucchini into sixths or eighths.  Roll them in egg whites and then in the Panko, laying them out wtih space between them on a greased baking sheet.  Cook for ten minutes, then flip and cook for ten more.  Enjoy sooner, than later.   They will disappear!

(Total Damage: 200 calories, assuming you use all the Panko, which you definitely will not.  I would really give it around 150)

Oven Fried Zucchini (Fiber One-Style, Lower Cal)

Stolen from the “Hungry Girl”–www.hungry-girl.com

  • 1 zucchini
  • 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup Fiber 1, ground to bread crumb consistency using a blender or food processor
  • 1 tablespoon Ranch dressing dip mix, not prepared
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic power
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Slice the zucchini into 1/2 inch thick rounds and dip in egg whites then in batter made of bottom 6 ingredients.  Toss to coat.  Grease pan, and lay out sliced zucchini, leaving space between slices.  Cook for ten minutes, then flip and cook for ten more.  Enjoy!

(Total Damage: 130 calories, assuming you use all of the breadcrumbs.  You will probably only knock back about 100 at most)

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Are you getting sick of my swirly Art Deco plates yet?  Because I sure am not.  They remind me of white chocolate drizzle, or some bad 80′s movie like Beetlejuice or Ghostbusters.  “Why worry? Each one of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back.”  Anyone?

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Garlic Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin

Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , , on May 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

I forgot to take a picture of this guy, but I’ll add it next time I make it.  I love making this dish for Sunday night dinner and then using the leftovers in sandwiches for the rest of the week.

Garlic Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin

Total Calories :  140 for 1/4 of a 1lb (raw) tenderloin.   Pork is around 40 calories an ounce when oven roasted.

Ingredients:

  • Pork tenderloin, around 1 pound
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • Olive oil Pam
  • Baking pan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease the baking pan with Pam.  In a separate bowl, mix the garlic powder, peppercorns, and rosemary.  Rub the mixture evenly on the surface of the pork loin, spraying with Pam if necessary to help the rub stick.  Put the loin on the greased pan, and bake for 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.  Then take your swine out of the oven, cover with tin foil and let sit for 15 minutes.

I suggest slicing this baby up in 1/2 inch slices, and serving it with some Worcestershire sauce.  Also, feel free to adjust the amount of “rub” based on taste.  I personally don’t like it too spicy.  Less spice also leads to more entertaining condiment choices when the leftovers turn into sammiches.

Pork is great because it’s a low cal meat and quite filling.  Tenderloins are pretty no fuss, and although they don’t look too attractive, they are great to throw together when you are cooking for one or two.  Plus, contrary to popular belief YOU CAN NOT GET SWINE FLU FROM PORK. (Sorry, this whole swine flu thing is breaking my brain. It’s the flu people!  Not the bubonic plague.  Although I do have a friend who got the bubonic plague 5 years ago.  No, I’m not kidding).  You can throw basically any rub you have in the house on a pork loin and have a great meal,  just avoid dipping Babe in olive oil to get the rub to stick…at 120 calories a tablespoon I’d rather have two pieces of Domino’s Cheesy Bread.

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