Toasty Times and Trivial Tidbits

Firstly, Merry Christmas to all of you from our newest family member Rinny.

I once worked with a lady who had three daughters, who explained to me you have to keep a baby book for all of your kids so when they turn into little monsters you can look back at the book and remember not to beat them senseless.  I think the same holds true for having cute pictures of your pets...especially Mr. Rundowntheroad dragaroundgarbage chewupremote here.  Anyway....I digress.

Remember I told you I would be reviewing a CSN product that would deliver toasty goodness?  Well here it is...

This is the Hamilton Beach 6 Slice Convection Toaster Oven.  My old toaster oven looked like it had been drop-kicked into submission many times over so it seemed like the perfect  time to replace it.  I chose this one because I was interested in the "convection" aspect of the whole thing.  I'm still not sure what that really means, but am anxious to try it out.  This oven has a good sized interior so I'm pretty sure I could bake a chicken in there.  Will probably give it a try soon and see how it works out.

I can definitely say it delivers a nice piece of cheesy toast!

Now, let's talk about Kale Chips, shall we?

I've seen these all over the interwebs and people raving about them like they are the healthy-choice answer to all your crunchy salty cravings. 

Yeah.

To me, it was like being outside in the fall when all the leaves are coming down, picking one up that had been laying there long enough to get crunchy and shoving it in my mouth.  Plus they're kinda bitter.  Let's just say these aren't my cup of tea, but if you think they are yours, this is where I got the recipe.

I've said my peace. 

Also tried another Hungry Girl recipe, Fiber Fried Chicken.  It's saving grace was that I was using it to get the taste of Kale Chips out of my mouth.

Just kidding, it's really not that bad.  You just have to get it out of your head that it's going to be anything like fried chicken, and it's quite doable.

Even the kids ate some, if that tells you anything.  

I imagine these are quite versatile, could add all sorts of flavorings, Hungry Girl even suggests rolling the chicken in some buffalo sauce before rolling it in the cereal for a bit of a hot wing taste.   

Here's HG's recipe if you're interested.  This is just for one serving, so I quadrupled it to feed the family.

Ingredients:

6 oz. Tyson (or another brand**) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (raw); cut lengthwise into 5 strips (I cut mine into only 4 strips)

1/2 cup Fiber One cereal

1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original

1/4 tsp. Lawry's Garlic Salt

pepper (to taste)



Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add Garlic Salt and pepper to crumbs. Place crumbs in one small dish and Egg Beaters in another. Next, coat raw chicken strips with egg substitute and then with crumb mixture. Place strips on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Spray a light mist of nonstick spray on top of strips and place in oven. Cook for 10 minutes, and then turn strips over. Add another light mist of nonstick spray and cook for an additional 8 - 10 minutes (until chicken is fully cooked and Fiber One looks crispy). Enjoy! Serves 1   (nutrition info can be found at Hungry Girl's site)