**RECIPE** Oven Baked Chicken & a Salad (with coconut oil)

I'm taking a couple of days off from blogging. My energy level is at an all-time low right now. I think it's a combination of having one cold after another since December and stress/grief.

The matcha tea that I am trying out is helping some, but I could probably be eating better. Never underestimate the power of good nutrition, right?  But it only works if you're consistent. Lately, my diet has consisted of coffee, water, and those crunchy almond bars I get from Walmart.

Yesterday was the first time in a couple of weeks that I've actually spent time fixing a decent meal for myself. Before I take this next couple of days off from here, I'm going to share my recipe for no-fry, crunchy chicken wings with you. Mind you, I came up with this on the fly, using whatever I had in the kitchen at the time because, well, um, no energy to go to the store! LOL

This is for the chicken and a salad on the side

INGREDIENTS: (everything optional except, of course,  the chicken)

• Chicken wings  (I separated the wing from the drum so that I had smaller pieces, but they can be left as whole 1-piece wings)
• Garlic cloves
• Liquid Smoke
• Olive Oil (opt)
• Coconut Oil
• Emeril's (or some other type) of seasoning*
• Panko breading
• Salt and Pepper
• For the salad, I used Spinach,  mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and baby potatoes, but you can use whatever you have. 

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Pre-heat oven to about 325-350
• Boil the chicken in water seasoned with the Liquid Smoke, salt and a little bit of olive oil
• While the chicken is boiling, peel the garlic cloves, slice the onions into rings or strips, and cut the baby potatoes in half. Save the slicing of the tomatoes til ready to assemble the salad later.
• When the chicken is boiled to tender, drain on paper.
• Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with a little olive oil
• While the chicken is still warm, rub on some coconut oil and then season with the Emeril's (or other seasoning mix). Now coat the chicken with the Panko and arrange them on your baking sheet, leaving a little room on one end for your potatoes and garlic
• Put your garlic cloves, mushrooms and potatoes in a packet of foil with a little bit of the coconut oil and some of the seasoning. Set this on the baking sheet. 
• Pop the baking sheet into the oven
• Check chicken, potatoes and garlic every 30 minutes for doneness. Move the chicken around if you need to keep the pieces from sticking to the foil.

When your baking items are done, arrange your salad greens, tomatoes and onions in a bowl. Add the garlic, mushrooms and potatoes to the top. Your garlic will be very buttery and spreadable. Delicious.

This is just a nice, simple meal that is savory and healthier than frying chicken in oil. The salad is a little unusual, but I have a thing for those little potatoes and they are so good when mixed with the salad. You don't need any dressing because the seasoning mixed with the coconut oil is perfect.

And that's one of my lazy homecooked meals. 

*Seasoning is optional. You could mix some garlic powder, onion powder, curry, salt and pepper to make your own.

Now, I am going to go and take a bath and get some sleep. I'll be back with some reviews day after tomorrow or the next...

Peace
--Free