Fried Chicken & Smoothies

I know I said last week that we are trying to eat better...well yesterday we decided to cheat and have something wonderfully indulgent. I made oven-fried chicken with cornbread and broccoli slaw. It hit the spot! I also made smoothies which I guess are slightly healthier however it still is quite a bit of sugar. After being married to Brian if there is 1 skill I have acquired it's definitely nutrition knowledge. (Do put that good knowledge to use? Of course not!) "Sugar is sugar" he would say, doesn't matter what the source is. On the plus side, this smoothie has no added sugar. Hooray!

Oven-Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 8 pieces of chicken (thighs, drumsticks, breasts, whatever you prefer)
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp freshly ground pepper
• vegetable oil or shortening

Directions:

• Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot (I used my dutch oven) to a depth of 1 inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer. 
• Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to cook in the oven). Don't crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. 

Truth be told I am obsessed with Safeway's broccoli slaw and boxed cornbread. YUM

Fruit Smoothie

I chose this particular smoothie because it is exactly what I had on hand. The blueberries I used were from our yard last summer...thank you freezer!

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup yogurt (I used plain greek yogurt)
• splash of almond milk (or whichever milk you prefer and only if needed. I don't like my smoothies too thick)

Directions:

Throw everything in your blender and voila!