Spicy Mexicali Chicken

There are a million and one ways to prepare chicken (or at least it seems that way to me.)  I have always loved fried chicken, but since that's no longer on my diet, I like to bake coated/ breaded chicken.  It reminds me of fried chicken but I don't feel guilty (or ill) for eating breaded chicken.

I find that with the right seasonings, I actually prefer the boneless, skinless coated chicken breast to fried chicken.

The title for this recipe includes the word spicy.  I think it's a little on the spicy side, but not much.  If you like it spicier, add some cayenne to the breading mixture.  You can increase the amount of hot sauce as well.

SPICY MEXICALI CHICKEN

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup sour milk (if you don't have sour milk, simply add 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1/4 cup regular milk and mix quickly.  The milk will begin to curdle.)
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
2/3 cup corn meal (I prefer white corn meal, but yellow is fine)
2 teaspoons Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend*
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Salsa, if desired. Made with Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Salsa Blend*

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease baking dish.  In shallow dish, mix sour milk and hot sauce.  In another shallow dish, mix cornmeal and taco seasoning.  Dip chicken in milk and then coat in cornmeal.  Place chicken in baking dish and brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn over chicken, carefully scraping the pan so the coating doesn't stick to the pan.  Then brush the other side of the chicken with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.  Return to the oven and bake 20 minutes longer.  Serve with salsa if desired.

I assure you that the end product if far more appetizing than it appears in this picture.  The coating didn't stick to the chicken as well as I would have liked, but it still tasted great. 

*Please email me at  auntiejeans@yahoo.com if you would like to order a bottle of Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend or Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Salsa Blend.

Homemade Chips and Salsa

I love snacks, but there are very few store-bought snacks that are good for you.  Tortilla chips and salsa are so yummy when you order them at a Mexican restaurant, but they are hardly good for you with all the salt and oil.  I even enjoy the jars of salsa from the grocery store, but again, they are high in sodium.  Actually, my all-time favorite salsa was made by my cousin, Bob.  When he and his wife, Deanna were married, they gifted guests with baskets of goodies, one of which was the delicious homemade salsa.  I should have asked for the recipe, but never did.  It did inspire me to try making my own salsa.  It's not hard to do; just mix some chopped tomatoes and onions with some spices and lime juice and let marinate awhile.  When you make low sodium salsa, just leave out the salt.  It's just as delicious because there are so many other spices that you hardly notice the absence of the salt.

You always need some good tortilla chips to go with that salsa, but finding chips in the store that are low salt and low fat can prove to be difficult.  Thanks to my brother, Tom, I learned that you can bake your own tortilla chips.  Recently, he was hosting a party where he served homemade tortilla chips.  He baked them because my parents, his in-laws, and I are on sodium restricted diets and he wanted to serve something that we could eat.  When he told me how easy it was, I tried it myself.  Now chips and salsa have become my go to snack.  Try it yourself!

SIMPLE SALSA 

1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes

½ cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon Auntie Jean’s Low Sodium Salsa Blend*

Combine all ingredients in bowl. Chill for one hour and serve with tortilla chips.

*If you need some Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Salsa Blend, I sell it for $5 per 1.5 ounce bottle.  Just let me know.  If you want to make it using your own spices, replace it with: 1/4 t cayenne, 1/2 t onion powder, 1/2 t dried cilantro, 1/2 t red pepper flakes, 1/2 t garlic powder, and 1 clove crushed garlic.

BAKED TORTILLA CHIPS

Ingredients:

8 7-inch low sodium corn tortillas

Vegetable oil 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush or spray* tortillas with oil on both sides. 

Using pizza cutter, cut tortillas into 6 or 8 triangles per tortilla and spread onto cookie sheet. 

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until crispy.  Store in plastic zip bag to keep fresh.

*Note: spraying oil on tortillas adds less fat.  You can put oil in a clean standard spray bottle.  I use the Kitchen Spritzer by Pampered Chef.  http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=610&catId=123&parentCatId=123&outletSubCat=