Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Fritters

Oh yeah, these babies are delicious! Amazing is basically the only word that truly does them justice!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded
1/4 cup "hot sauce" ( I used buffalo wing sauce)
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 blue cheese, crumbled
1 egg
1/4 cup gluten free panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil to fry

How to:

Add quinoa and water to pot with lid. Simmer until all liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. I recommend getting it to a boil first then bringing it down to low-heat for the 15 minute cooking period. Once cooked, stir with fork to fluff. Set aside, lid off, until cool enough to handle.

Once quinoa has cooled to handling temperature, add all quinoa, chicken, hot sauce, onion, cheddar, blue cheese, egg, breadcrumbs and salt & pepper to a large bowl.  Stir all ingredients until well combined.

Then, take mixture and form patties. Place patties on cookie sheet and place in fridge for 15 minutes. (Yields between 10-12 patties for me).

In the mean time heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Oil should cover the entire skillet. Once oil is hot, remove patties from fridge and cook in oil for 3-4 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove from skillet and place on paper towel to drain.

Viola! There you have a delicious and not TOO unhealthy snack/lunch/dinner. I recommend serving the quinoa fritters with extra wing sauce and blue cheese dressing for dipping. Cut up celery and carrot sticks also make a nice addition!

Enjoy! And as always- if you have comments or suggestions please share them with me!

Oven Baked Breaded Chicken

The other night Rob requested I make my homemade breaded chicken with sauce, cheese and pasta. It is basically chicken parm, but not quite. The thing I like about making it... is that it is SO easy and you can make it look so fancy! Here is how you make the chicken:

Ingredients:


1 lb of boneless, skinless, chicken cutlets
1 Package of bread crumbs (I use italian style panko bread crumbs) (Ian's Original Panko Breadcrumb, 9-Ounces (Pack of 12) )
2-3 Eggs
1/8 cup (or so) of cold water
2 Tb melted butter
Pepper
Dried minced garlic (McCormick Minced Garlic 3-Ounce Unit (Pack of 6) )
Lawry's seasoning salt (Lawrys Seasoning Salt, 16 -Ounce Bottles (Pack of 6) )

Process:


First, preheat oven to 350.  Then, rinse the chicken and leave it to dry. Get out 2 medium sized bowls. In one bowl add eggs and water, slightly whisk until lots of the big egg chunks are well mixed. In the second bowl, add bread crumbs (not the whole package! Maybe half) and add some extra spices to them; dried garlic, pepper and lawry's seasoning salt, mix well. Now, go back to the chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel. Take the chicken piece by piece, and dip one piece into the egg wash then dip it in the bread crumb bowl and make sure the piece of chicken is completely covered in bread crumbs. Once each piece is covered place them in a single layer in a glass baking pan. Sprinkle a small amount of extra bread crumbs on each piece of chicken and pat them down, then drizzle a little bit of melted butter on each piece of chicken. NOTE: The chicken should not be covered in butter, just a small sprinkle on each piece. Once that is complete, place the chicken in the oven for about 30 minutes (give or take). Then, after 30 minutes remove it and et it sit for 5 minutes. Viola! Your delicious chicken in complete!!

Plating:


Now, if you want to make your chicken with sauce and pasta and cheese--- and you want it to look pretty... First, take a plate and put a small serving of pasta on it, put a little sauce of the pasta and a little cheese. Then, take one piece of chicken and place it on on top of the sauce and pasta, place a piece of provolone cheese on top of the chicken and cover the chicken with sauce. Then, top off the plate by sprinkling some freshly grated cheese on. It will look lovely and taste even better!!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Hope everyone enjoys this! You can obviously pair the chicken with whatever sides or dishes you are in the mood for but I just happen to make it with pasta, sauce and cheese... so I thought I would share that with you! As always, any thoughts.. critiques, suggestions or other ideas... feel free to let me know!