Day 9- If they wanted powder they should have said so!

Picnic Chicken and Biscuits. A very interesting recipe. We weren't having a picnic, but it sounded good so we decided to give it a go. Let me start off this blog by telling you about my day. This pertains to the story, I promise. My daughter was having a particularly hyper day. I'm not sure if she has some secret stash of mountain dew and pixie sticks in her room or something, but some days she acts like her legs are pogo sticks and she only knows one speed: run. Plus, on these days her voice is a shrill scream. She was pretty good all day though until she had a friend over. Then she turned into my evil child that needs a nap and is thisclose to having a major meltdown. My son developed a faucet for a nose on Sunday and Monday it was BAD. Not to mention he was cranky. Not a "cry for 10 minutes and be over it" type of cranky. It was a "hold me or regret it" cranky. He's currently cutting four teeth (which I didn't know at that point in time). Also, every day at 6 PM (I kid you not) his timer goes off. There isn't anymore sweet baby. He cries and cries until 7:30PM when it is time for him to eat. I cook most dinners with him on my hip because my husband has school and when he's home, he's in the office doing homework so he can participate in the kids' bedtime routines. So just imagine a baby in a Bumbo seat (the little seats that help babies learn to sit up), on my kitchen island, screaming constantly except for the occasional acid reflux moment when I have to stop and Clorox the counter, and a faucet of snot moving faster than I can. Then a little girl that is quietly sitting at the table until I tell her to put her activity book away and at which point she gets angry that I won't let her help and that her brother won't be quiet. Chaos ensued....

So back to the food. I had to skin the chicken. The picture and explanation looks easy. The first sentence even says (in italics) "For easy removal". It tells me to just grasp the chicken with one hand and grab the skin in the other hand with a paper towel to prevent slipping and pull it right off. So I do this. Okay...I TRY to do this. I had the chicken down and I was pulling up like I was trying to start a push mower. I either had a stubborn chicken or this is the worst recipe card I've ever read. I flung a wing across the counter (which cracked Andrea up and I'm pretty sure Jake stopped crying briefly and was entertained by this thing flying across the counter). Since Andrea was wanting to help me, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with her burning herself again , I gave her corn flakes in a quart-size Zip Lock bag and told her to beat it up. She beat that bag until I thought it was going to fall apart. Part of the corn flakes were powdered and then there were some bigger pieces in there, but nothing that I thought was too big to make a good crust. Wrong, so wrong. If they want it powdered, they should really write that on the recipe. Crumbs and powder are not the same thing. Once the chicken was naked, I dipped it in milk and then in the corn flake mixture. I'm thinking "Um, that doesn't look anything like the picture", but then none of my recipes do so I move right along and put them in the oven.

The recipe now says I need to make biscuits. I have a brain fart about this time and stare at my pantry and the Bisquick that is sitting at eye level and keep looking for the baking mix. Granted, Jake was now on my hip screaming, Andrea was dragging her "ladder" across the floor and Russ was calling my phone. I finally picked up the box, said duh to myself, and measured out the ingredients and let Andrea stir it up. It said just plop it onto the pan by the spoonfuls so that's exactly what I did. They weren't by any means pretty, but you don't get edible and pretty food here. It's one or the other...

Regardless of the badly covered chicken, and the odd shaped biscuits it was really good. I thought Andrea was going to have a heart attack when I pulled out the pasta salad again. She looked at me in a way that said " I ate that once woman. I'm not eating it again!" (But she did...hahaha) Just a note, my salad was not very appetizing cold. I would suggest heating it slightly. This is definitely a "Family Approved Meal". Although, I would greatly suggest a little more seasoning on the chicken. It's plenty spicy, but it just needed something extra. It needs a little "oomph" because it's just a bit plain. I will be making the biscuits for other things than just supper though. They were great and so, so easy!

Picnic Chicken and Biscuits- By: Healthy Meals in Minutes
Serves 4
3 T low-fat milk
1 1/2 cups corn flake crumbs (about 3 cups corn flakes)
1/4 t ground red pepper (cayenne)
One 2 1/2 lb chicken, skinned and cut into pieces (I bought the pre-cut pieces in bulk)

For the Biscuits
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat baking mix
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 cup low-fat milk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a nonstick baking sheet with veggie cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Place 3 tablespoons of milk in a pie plate. (I just poured some into a bowl.) On a sheet of waxed paper, combine corn flake crumbs and red pepper. Mix well. Dip each piece of chicken in the milk, then dredge in corn flake mixture, patting so crumbs adhere.
3. Place chicken on  prepared baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, until crisp and cooked through, turning once, about 40 minutes.
4.While chicken is baking, prepare the biscuits. In a medium bowl, combine baking mix and thyme. Add 1/2 cup of milk; stir just until dough forms. Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake biscuits alongside the chicken until golden, about 7 to 9 minutes.
5. Place chicken and biscuits on a platter and serve.
**Here is a picture of my attempt.**

Per Serving:

Calories: 409 (19% from fat)

Carbs: 46 g

Protein: 36 g

Sodium: 842 mg

Fat: 8 g

Cholesterol: 99 mg