Tasty Tuesday - Garlic Breaded Chicken

Tonight I made an old favorite recipe that always has been a crowd pleaser at my house.  Garlic breaded chicken!  It's quick, it's easy, it makes my whole house smell good and wow does it ever make my tastebuds do a happy dance in my mouth!

No really! Mine jump up and down and do wild and crazy moves like the 'sprinkler', 'disco fever' and the 'macarena'.  I allow it only because they led a sheltered life growing up and they excite easy! 

But enough about my dancing tastebuds... here's my recipe.

Start by throwing a 1/4 cup of flour in a small bowl.  I use my cereal bowls... I like them.  They're not too big, not too small and they're shallow and wide enough for dipping which is important as you'll see in a moment.

Then right on top of that flour dump 1/2 cup of bread crumbs - I have Italian seasoned but plain would work just fine too.

Now the part where you'll have to trust your own taste and spice levels... because as I've mentioned before I'm not so much a "measurer" as a "throw-it-in-there-til-it-looks-good" person.

Add garlic powder, black pepper and paprika.  I go heavy on all three - I'm crazy like that!

Then mix it all together with a spoon so you can see all the pretty colors evenly and set aside.

Hello pretty colors...please make my chicken taste delicious.  Thank you!

Take a second bowl and crack an egg in it.

If you're going to post pictures of the process... try to remember to grab your bowls that DON'T have chips in them so you look like you actually take care of your dinnerware.

Now whisk in some milk... you can eyeball it but it's probably 3/4 cup worth.

And... see if you can cleverly cover the chip in photos with the whisk handle so the bowl doesn't have to be embarrassed of it's flaws any longer!

 

Now create an assembly line:  Chicken, egg mixture, bread crumb mixture, clean plate.

Now at this point many people would use their fingers to do the dipping... but that's messy.  It works, and if you're into that sort of thing go right ahead and be my guest, but I have these bad boys!

Hello pretty tongs... I'm so glad you found your way into my Christmas stocking this year.  Oh do I ever have a fun job for you!!

Sometimes I talk to my kitchen utensils... deal with it!

Pick up a piece of chicken...

  

Then dunk it completely in the egg/milk bath.

And then dredge both sides in the bread crumb mixture.  The scoops on the tongs are also great for picking up extra bread crumbs and spreading over areas that don't get covered completely.

Then transfer to the clean plate and start again.  At some point the build up on the tongs may require you rinsing them off... but once again, preferable to the build up on fingers and the mess!

At this point, if you're me - you can also have a small fight with your 3-year old who insists he should be cooking this with you.  

He'll pull up a chair, and you'll tell him "don't touch the raw chicken" which means right away he'll touch the raw chicken, you'll have to wash his hands and briefly contemplate lecturing him of the dangers of salmonella poisoning. 

Then you'll remember he's three and instead discipline him accordingly and then listen to him cry in his bedroom while he thinks about disobedience and consequences and gets self control and comes out to ask "pweese fwogive me for touching the no-no."

But all that aside - before you know it you'll have a whole plate that looks like this:

 

The longer you can let the chicken sit in the breading the better it will stay on during the cooking process. 

If you have the time... 15-20 mins in the fridge will do a world of good!  However, I was rushing a bit tonight (remember delay by 3-year old) so don't judge me in coming photos... but even straight to the skillet I lost very little.

Heat up some EVOO in a skillet on medium high...just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.  

When the pan is hot dump place your chicken pieces in.  They should bubble and sizzle right away or your oil is not hot enough and all you're doing is soaking your food in oil...blegh!!!

Blegh = bad for those not familiar with my terminology.  You should be warned that sometimes I type with an accent too.. I'll let you decide what that sounds like in your head.

Brown on one side...flip and repeat!

You may want to reduce the heat as it gets going because you don't want your outsides to be browned too much while the inside is still uncooked.  Unless you're going for blackened chicken, but I don't think burnt really meets that definition! 

NOTE:  I use chicken tenders because they're fairly thin and they cook through quickly.  If you use this recipe on bigger cuts of meats - you may want to brown on each side and finish the cooking process in the oven.  

Well hello dinner... you look delightful!

Serve up with your favorite sides.  Tonight I made The Pioneer Woman's Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin for the first time, and also green beans.  

If you've never tried cooking your green beans in chicken broth instead of water...try it soon!  

 

And dinner is served.  It made the perfect amount for my family with leftovers for both Dave's and my lunches tomorrow.  

Anytime I don't have to make a separate lunch, I consider that a big success!

And then while my darling of a husband got up and volunteered to do all the dishes - I got to play with this guy:

Meet Elijah - he's 7 months old and he's squishy and kissable and makes my heart melt.

What did you make for dinner?