Crunchy Honey Lime Chicken

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I'm still on my quest to cook from my gazillion cookbooks in my collection.  The other day I brought you a wonderful side dish of Cajun Roasted Potatoes which were a major hit!

Today, to go with those potatoes, I've served up a main dish of Crunchy Honey Lime Chicken.  I found this recipe in the cookbook by Mary Younkin, The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook.  This sounded like the perfect dinner to serve on a weeknight.  Something quick and light, but slightly different than your usual chicken dish.

This recipe has the option of frying or baking the chicken.  I chose to bake them for a healthier meal.  The recipe also uses chicken tenders for ease of preparation and I chose to use chicken breasts that I cut into strips as I prefer them over tenders.

The dish has the perfect pop of flavors.  Tender juicy baked chicken strips drizzled with honey and lime make the perfect weeknight dinner.  Make sure and don't skip the honey or the lime as they make this dish a winner!

What do I need to make this?  Good baking sheets are a must.  I love these.  You want ones that are sturdy and hold up well to high oven temperatures.  A good cooling rack that fits the baking sheet is a plus.  I use these.  They fit perfectly on a half sheet pan and they elevate the chicken so that air can flow above and below to ensure a crispy crust all around.  No soggy bottoms!  Some items like these breading trays, and tongs  are nice to haves but very handy 

All in all we just loved both the Crunchy Honey Lime Chicken and the Cajun Roasted Potatoes together.  This was the perfect combo we needed for a quick yet tasty weeknight dinner.  Plus, any leftovers taste just as good the next day for lunch!

Enjoy!

Crunchy Honey Lime Chicken

slightly adapted from The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook
serves 4

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs, toasted if desired
cooking spray
2 large limes, cut into wedges
1/4 cup honey

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Set a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, chili powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a medium-size bowl.  Add the egg and milk and whisk until smooth.  Place the panko in a medium-size bowl.  Cut the chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch strips.  Add the chicken strips to the flour mixture turning to coat both sides.  Shake off excess.  Place the coated chicken strips in the panko and press into the mixture, turning to coat both sides.  Place the strips on the wire rack on top of the baking sheet.  Repeat until all chicken is coated.

Spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray.  Place in the oven and cook 10-15 minutes until chicken is golden brown and cooked through.  Remove from the oven and place chicken on a platter.  Drizzle with honey and squeeze lime juice over the chicken.  Serve with the remaining lime wedges.

10 BEST Smoothies

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10 Seriously easy and mouthwatering smoothies that will keep you cool all summer long!

1.  Banana Cream Pie Smoothie - Tastes just like the Banana Cream Pie your momma made, with the same comfort feeling! {GET THE RECIPE}

2.  Cherry Berry Smoothie - A tart and creamy smoothie that mixes in-season cherries and berries for one outstanding and healthy drink.  {GET THE RECIPE}

3.  Peach Cobbler Smoothie - Light and creamy this drink is a taste of the South!  {GET THE RECIPE}

4.  Black and Blue Smoothie - A double delight with not one but two berries that will provide your with antioxidants and fill your tummy.  A great breakfast treat!  {GET THE RECIPE}

5.  Vanilla Kiwi Smoothie - A cool and light smoothie made with luscious kiwis and warming vanilla.  {GET THE RECIPE}

6.  Avila Orange Smoothie - Oh this is one of my favorite breakfast treats.  Made with Avila farms honey (use your favorite) and oranges.  AWESOME!  {GET THE RECIPE}

7.  Strawberry Banana Smoothie - Traditional flavors that are outstanding together and kids love them!  {GET THE RECIPE}

8.  Strawberry Pear Smoothie - Fresh pears blended with strawberries make for a light and bright drink that will keep you cool and delight your senses!  {GET THE RECIPE}

9.  Pineapple Mango Chia Smoothie - Tropical flavors of pineapples and mango blended with chia for a wonderfully healthy smoothie that will make you feel like your vacationing on a beach!  {GET THE RECIPE}

10.  Blackberry Pomegranate Smoothie - Sweet and tart go well together in this outrageously good smoothie.  Filling and quenching all in one treat!  {GET THE RECIPE}

Yogurt Waffles with Honey Cream

Waffles, Waffles, Waffles

My mom is the waffle queen.  She LOVES them.  She doesn't like them overly sweet.  She likes them with pecans, and will take them any day over pancakes.  She even loves them for dinner!

Me?  Now, I'm more of a pancake person.  Don't get me wrong, I love me a good waffle.  It just doesn't get top billing for my favorite breakfast treat.

One of the best waffles I've had was at a little beach restaurant up in Santa Barbara.  It was a HUGE Belgian waffle topped with a gazillion berries, sprinkled with powdered sugar.  YUM!

So the other day I was looking around a favorite cooking store (heaven!) and spotted a nice waffle maker on sale, which reminded me that I have one and need to use it more!  Next to it was a book called "Waffles - sweet and savory recipes for every meal".  What caught my eye was the to-die-for waffle on the cover (can you say Smores?) and I promptly bought the book.  It was out of my control.  Really.

So in looking through the many many wonderful recipes I found one that I'd like to try first.  Made with yogurt, it appealed to my sense of being healthier! (I keep telling myself that) Less sugar, not laden with syrup.  Just a dollop of some honey cream.  Sounds good huh?

Well, I have to tell you these are the most tender waffles I've ever made.  Better than buttermilk.  I swear.  You HAVE to try them and see for yourself.  I made a large batch and MGG and I each had one.  The honey cream was tangy and a little sweet.  Just perfect on top of the most tender waffle.  Since we had leftovers I separated them into quarters and froze them.  That way we can pop them in the toaster during the week and have a nice quick breakfast treat, with some peanut butter or cream cheese on top!  They were perfect even frozen!!  My Mom would even be proud.

Do yourself, and your family, a favor.....make these waffles!

Yogurt Waffles with Honey Cream

Adapted from the cookbook “Waffles” by Tara Duggan

Makes 4 waffles

For the Honey Cream:

1 c plain yogurt

¼ c honey

Waffles:

2 large eggs

1 c plain yogurt

½ - ¾ c 2% milk

½ c canola oil

2 T honey

1 t vanilla

1 ½ c flour

1 T brown sugar

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

¼ t salt

Honey for serving

In a bowl mix together yogurt and honey to make the honey cream.  Set aside.

Preheat waffle maker.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, milk (1/2 c to start), oil, honey and vanilla.  In another large bowl mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Make a well in the center and pour in the egg mixture.  Whisk until mostly smooth, there may be a few lumps.  If batter seems too thick (mine was) add another splash or two of milk and stir to combine.

Ladle batter into the waffle maker, spreading batter to the edges.  Cook until done about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from waffle maker and serve right away, or keep warm in a low temp oven.  Repeat making the remaining waffles.   Top with a dollop of honey cream and a drizzle of honey.


Linked to the following parties:  Weekend Potluck

Honey Apple Pancakes

I warned you about me and apples.  

I'm on a roll lately...getting in my fill of apples while they are fresh and crisp.

I came across this recipe for Honey Apple Pancakes in a Better Homes and Garden book and loved the ingredients that were used.  Much healthier than a normal pancake recipe with the use of honey and apple juice.  They state that a 2 pancake serving has on 3 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of fiber.  I helped this along by using a "lite" apple juice, which has 1/2 the sugar content, and topping it with sugar-free maple syrup.

The best part?  The apple flavor.  So warm and comforting!  And these pancakes rose very very well!  Such a great recipe with great flavors, I had to share!

Here's how the batter looks when preparing it.

The end result?
You tell me...

Look how fluffy!

Hope you enjoy them for your weekend breakfast or brunch!

Honey Apple Pancakes

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Servings: 8 - 4 inch pancakes

            

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup lite apple juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cooking oil
cooking oil spray

In a medium mixing bowl, stir flour, baking powder, salt, apple pie spice, and baking soda.  In a small mixing bowl, beat egg slightly; stir in apple juice, honey, and oil.  Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture; stir until blended but still slightly lumpy.

Lightly coat a nonstick griddle or skillet with cooking oil spray and heat over medium heat. For each pancake pour about 1/4 cup batter onto the hot griddle or skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until pancakes have a bubbly surface and slightly dry edges. Turn and cook 2 to 3 minutes more or until golden brown. 


Linked to:
Melt in your mouth Monday