Old-Fashioned Oven-Baked Chicken
This family-friendly oven-baked chicken is easy to make and can be cooked and stored in your fridge for up to two days before the picnic.
1 cup (250 mL) whole grain cereal flakes
1 Tbsp (15 mL) paprika
1 Tbsp (15 mL) cracked black pepper
1 tsp (5 mL) onion powder
1 tsp (5 mL) dry mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) cumin
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cayenne pepper
1/4 cup (60 mL) plain low-fat yogourt
1 tbsp (15 mL) skim milk
4 free-range bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks
The night before the picnic: preheat oven to 400 C (200 F). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place cereal flakes into food processor or blender. Pulse until crushed. (Or crush with potato masher, or place flakes in clean plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin.) Add paprika, pepper, onion powder, dry mustard, cumin, and cayenne; pulse until spices have been well incorporated. Place crumb mixture in shallow-rimmed dish or medium bowl.
In separate medium bowl, whisk together yogourt and milk.
Wash your hands. Remove skin from chicken thighs and discard. Wash hands. Brush both sides of 1 thigh with yogourt mixture using pastry brush. Then place it into crumb mixture and press down firmly to coat. Turn to coat the other side and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken thighs.
Roast for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the internal temperature of chicken is 165 F (74 C).
Remove from oven and let cool. Remove from pan and place in resealable container and store in fridge for up to 2 days.
The day of the picnic: pack container of chicken into insulated cooler bag with a large cold source on top of container. Don’t bring it out until serving time, and stow leftovers immediately back in cooler bag with cold source after serving.
Makes 4 servings.
One serving (1 thigh) contains:
258 calories; 28 g protein; 11 g total fat (3.2 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat); 8.9 g carbohydrates; 2.8 g fibre; 123 mg sodium
Source: "Picnics & Potlucks", alive #344, June 2011
Old-Fashioned Oven-Baked Chicken
Directions
Mairlyn Smith, PHEc
Mairlyn Smith, PHEc, is a professional home economist, Second City Alumnus, cookbook author, freelance writer, and mom.
READ THIS NEXT
SEE MORE »
Tourtière AU Cerf
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
Artichauts en Barigoule
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de Canut
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.