Oven-Fried Chicken

I really love fried chicken, but sometimes I feel guilty about how fattening it is. Well, that and (I can't believe I am admitting this) this Oklahoma girl cannot fry chicken to save her life. I'm sure if I had a deep fat fryer, things would work out better, at least for the chicken. But then I would want to deep fry everything in sight, which would be very bad for my thighs.

This chicken was tasty and moist and the crust was crunchy, but it didn't fool me. It was still baked chicken.


Oven-Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

6 bone-in chicken breasts
3 c. lowfat buttermilk, divided
1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
2 1/2 c. corn flakes, slightly crushed by hand
1 tsp. salt
2 TBSP sesame seeds
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. black pepper (or more, to taste)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 large egg
1 TBSP Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish and pour in two c. buttermilk. Let sit at least two hours, up to overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking liner or lightly spray with cooking spray.

3. Combine flour, corn flakes, salt, sesame seeds, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic powder in a shallow bowl.

4. In a separate shallow bowl, lightly whisk together remaining cup of buttermilk, egg, and Dijon mustard.

5. Remove chicken from buttermilk marinade, rinse and pat dry, and discard marinade.

6. Coat each breast with the buttermilk mixture then the cornflake mixture, packing crumbs onto chicken.

7. Arrange pieces on the baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray to prevent burning.

8. Bake until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife, approximately 45 minutes.