Green Swamp SoupKid, Earth and Time Friendly Recipes

It’s a new year and I’m making some brand-new recipes — trying to up the health quotient even more! These two recipes are definitely kid-approved. The chicken planks are crispy and flavorful, despite being baked, and the citrus salad is seriously one of the freshest healthy things I’ve tasted in the winter!

I found the recipe for these chicken planks on the blog, Love and Olive Oil. It was absolutely delicious and my kids LOVED them. For the citrus salad, I combined grapefruit, oranges and cranberries with baby salad greens and a light teriaki/sesame dressing. Once again, my orange-loving kids gobbled the salad up and asked for seconds.

Baked Planko Chicken Planks

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or breast tenders (I buy organic, free-range)
1 1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with foil and lightly spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl or shallow dish, season the flour with salt and black pepper, and lightly beat the eggs in another shallow dish. In a third shallow dish, combine panko breadcrumbs with basil, garlic, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

3. If using chicken breasts, prepare by putting one breast in between two layers of plastic wrap. Pound to an even thickness of approximately 1/2″. Remove plastic and slice into strips.

4. Dredge tenders in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess flour. Dip the floured chicken tenders into the egg and then coat the chicken tenders with the breadcrumb mixture. Arrange on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strips.

5. Bake chicken tenders for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown, flipping once part way through the cook time. (This may take more time for a really golden-brown breading.)

Serve with a low-fat honey mustard or homemade ranch dressing!

(I make low-fat honey mustard with 1 cup soy mayonaise, 2 tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. paprika.)

Citrus Salad

Ingredients:

1 grapefruit, peeled and cubed
1 orange, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup dried craisins
1 bag baby salad greens

For Dressing:

1 tbsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. teriaki
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. unrefined sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. ginger, minced

Directions

1. Whisk together all dressing ingredients.

2. Chill dressing slightly.

3. Combine baby greens, grapefruit, orange and craisins.

4. Pour dressing over greens.

5. Top salad with toasted sesame seeds, chow mein noodles, almonds, sesame sticks or all of the above!