UNBELIEVABLE Asian Chicken

My little 4 year old loves "chicken on the bone". He thinks that is the only way to eat chicken (no one bother to tell him that is the "cheap" way to eat chicken. I made this Asian BBQ Chicken out of my Cooking Light Book the other day. I marinated it with skinless bone in thighs. Keaton took one taste paused looked at me and in all seriousness said...."UNBELIEVABLE". I think that is pretty rave reviews!

Asian BBQ Chicken Marinade

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (I used fresh lemon and threw a tad of rind in there for kicks)

1/2 tsp red crushed pepper (I used closer to 1/4)

1/4 tsp curry powder

3 garlic cloves minced

8 skinned thighs

Put all ingredients in a ziptop bag 4 hours to overnight. Squish it all together. Every so often turn the bag. Grill (I used my Panini press layed flat, an indoor grill would also work as would the oven if you REALLY had to :).

BBQ pulled chicken and THE BEST sweet potato fries

My sister-in-law made this cooking light pulled chicken sandwich first. It is really good. I served it on the new wheat sandwich thins. If you do weight watchers the bun is only ONE point...gotta love it.
To make the BBQ pulled chicken (there are additional ingredients in caps in the directions):
mix:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper

Rub on 1 lb boneless skinless CHICKEN breasts (I cut up the breasts I had because they were huge and I wanted more surface area for the rub).
Cook 2 minutes on each side with 2 tsp OLIVE OIL. Remove from pan.
Add 1 cup thin sliced ONION to the pan, cook until tender stirring constantly. Add 1 cup CHICKEN BROTH and put chicken back in. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Take chicken out and shred with 2 forks. Return to pan one more time and bring liquid to a boil. Let simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in 1 Tbsp BALSAMIC VINEGAR. Super quick, super yummy.

Now for those sweet potato fries. I need to tell you my 4 year old was a jerk the day I made this dinner. Sometimes we just have those days. He LOVED these sweet potato fries. After dinner he was back to his nice self. I asked him what changed...he said, "Mom if you make good dinner like that I will ALWAYS be nice." Now I am not promising it will work for your kids but...worth a try?

Sweet Potato Fries
Preheat oven to 425. Peel and cut up your sweet potato. Put in a gallon ziptop bag with a BIT of Olive oil (I went really easy on it, maybe a TBSP for the whole gallon bag). Add salt, garlic and cinnamon (YES, cinnamon). I used a bit more salt then garlic or cinnamon. Put on a baking sheet. Cook for about 15 minutes on one side then flip. Cook another 10 minutes or until tender. These are the best we have ever had!

One more thing. I needed to include this picture we took the other night of my 9 mos old daughter. We have been really blessed with kids that are not picky eaters. I would like to say it is because we NEVER cater to pickiness but I am smarter then that and I know some kids are just more picky then others. Savannah decided the other night it was time to try some steamed spinach off my plate. I thought this was pretty funny :)

Chicken Parmesan

We love Chicken Parm here. We love Mimi's but can't afford to go there enough to cure the craving. This is not a quick meal but it is worth the effort on a special night. I serve mine with homemade marinara and pasta. You could serve it with rice, potatoes, whatever.
Chicken Parm
2 boneless skinless breasts (you will end up with 4 servings)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
3/4 cup Romano (you could actually use Parmesan as the name suggests but I am partial to Romano)
1 tsp salt (you could use less or none and salt to taste after)
1 egg
butter
Slice the chicken in 1/2 (to reduce the thickness by 1/2) then pound in a gallon Ziploc bag with a meat mallet, rolling pin, whatever you have. You are trying to go for about 1/2 inch.
Beat egg slightly in a bowl. In another bowl add the Romano, crumbs and salt. Get a frying pan ready with a Tbsp butter melted. Dip the chicken in the egg coating both sides, then dip in crumbs coating both sides. Lay in the fry pan. Fry about 3 minutes both sides until golden brown. If your chicken is thin enough they should be cooked completely. To keep warm put in a pan in the oven while you cook the others.

Better then Mickey Dee's!

Usually Sunday morning Lee makes breakfast. I am thrilled for the morning off but he usually makes pancakes, waffles, etc. They always taste real good but an hour into church or so I am HUNGRY. Not too mention the sugar gives me a headache and makes me tired.

Can I tell you about my guilty pleasure? I LOVE MC D's sausage egg mcmuffin. When I saw Rachel Ray doing Chicken sausage sandwiches I thought I would have to try it on Sunday and see how it goes. We loved them. I made a triple batch of the sausage and then froze them flat so we can have them on another Sunday for a quicker breakfast. With the chicken breast sausage and egg beaters it is much lighter then Mc D's I am sure. Keaton and I didn't have cheese, but you can. My second batch of sausage I grilled a little longer. That is what is on the plate next to it.

Breakfast Chicken Sausage
-1 pound ground chicken breast (I took a whole chicken breast and took it for a spin in my food processor (Associated has boneless skinless for $1.57 a pound so it was a much better deal))
-1 small Macintosh apple peeled and finely chopped (I used a green apple stolen off the limb of my neighbors tree hanging in my yard :)
-1/4 cup maple syrup (I am WAY too poor to afford maple syrup....I used maple flavor pancake syrup)
-1 TBSP grill seasoning blend (I used Montreal...it had a bit of a bite to it, Keaton the 3 year old was fine but if your kids are picky you might want to cut it back just a bit)
-1 tsp Poultry Seasoning (seriously I have had this in my cupboard FOREVER and have never used it...yahoo I finally had a use for it)
-1/2 tsp Cinnamon
-1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine all with your hands (I know sick make your husband do it). Patty it out into 4 patties (this was her thing, I would do them thinner next time. I still got way more out of it then her).
Cook 5 minutes on each side (I used my new indoor Food Network grill). Put on a buttered toasted English muffin with a scrambled egg, and cheese if desired (Lee melted his cheese and it was much better). Hope you like it, be sure to leave a comment if you make it (or think about making it :).