Picnic Oven Baked Fried Chicken and Pesto Pasta

It was such a sunny day today. I went to the grocery store and there was a deal on whole cut chicken. Like $2.50 for the whole thing. The everything diet is so expensive, I will take savings where I can get them. I normally am all about the boneless skinless chicken. It is just easier, and skinless is always better, but today was not the case. So I made some oven fried chicken instead, in hopes to come up with some good picnic foods. You don't know this yet, but I have been making some picnic and BBQ foods for summer, I just need to finish posting them.

Here is the recipe for the chicken:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash the chicken and pat it dry with clean towel.
3. Combine a half cup soy milk and 1/2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar (dairy free buttermilk). Set aside for about 10 min.
4. Combine in pie dish, or large plate, 3/4 c. Carol's sorghum blend, 3 tbsp steak seasoning, 2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp cumin, salt (not too much), and pepper to taste, and 1/2 tsp xanthum gum. Make sure it is well mixed.
5. Add buttermilk mixture to 3 whisked eggs in a pie pan or large shallow bowl.
6. Brush your baking pan with olive oil or spray with nonstick spray if you wish.



Dip each piece of chicken one by one in the buttermilk egg mixture.



Then coat each piece in the flour mixture. I only did the tops of each piece and a thin layer.


That is it. Put it in the oven for about 40 minutes. Every oven is different, and mine stinks, so check it every 15-20 minutes or so. I cooked it until the thermometer read 160 degrees. For the last three minutes, I brushed the chicken with a little olive oil, mainly getting any parts of the flour not cooked yet. I then broiled the chicken for about three minutes for a crispier skin. I paid close attention not to let it burn.


So that is the chicken. I let it sit about 15 minutes, it was still cooking during that time. It turned out very moist.

Ok now the Pesto pasta salad. This can be served hot or cold making it perfect for a picnic.

Super Easy Pesto Recipe:
1. This is my touch to the recipe ... pesto can be make various ways.
2. In a food processor, combine:
* About a cup of basil leaves
* A handful of almonds (or pine nuts, they are just expensive), or I have tried sunflower seeds and they work really well too.
* 2 tbsp of rice based parmesan cheese, I really don't taste the difference, but I do with soy based.
* 2-3 cloves of garlic.
* 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar



I added the juice of one small lemon.



Finally before pureeing, I added about 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. As it pureed I ended up adding about a tbsp more. And that was it. It makes about 2 cups of pesto, and a little pesto goes a long way, so just store the rest in an airtight container in your fridge. It should keep 7-10 days. I have used this with dinners, adding asparagus, spinach, tomatoes, and goat cheese. It's one of my favorites.


That is it. I added a couple tablespoons to some gluten free pasta (my favorite I have found is made with rice, potato, and soy flours. Topped it with some fresh tomatoes and basil and a little rice parmesan cheese. Ready for a picnic I say. Have a good day.