Crispy Yogurt Chicken

I am actually blogging about the meal I am still digesting!!!!

I have been cleaning up a storm today and finally got to the pantry. My pantry is a black hole of canned goods, pasta and various other ingredients that you could whip up many fine meals from. If we ever get stuck in the house we could easily live off all that food for a few months. I expected the show hoarders to come knocking on my door and need to have a sit down about the 7 boxes of Orzo sitting on my shelf. Let's not even get into the 5 cans of Pumpkin Puree. After 3 garbage bags and a huge pile of empty cans, it is now cleaned out and up to date. Now that it is clean I can see if I have the ingredients I need instead of just being lazy and buying what I need each week. When I see the huge pantries some people have in their houses, my heart starts to beat faster and I just start daydreaming about all the things I could fill them with. Maybe someday............

The Pioneer Women is a celebrity in the world of food blogging. She has written a book, she has a really entertaining blog and manages to cook too! I can handle 1 out of 3....something 2-

This is one of her recipes and I did change it up a bit but its the kind of recipe that allows for it.

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

adapted from The Pioneer Women Cooks

Ingredients

• 1 cups Plain, Unflavored Yogurt
• 2 cloves (to 3 Cloves) Garlic
• Parsley, To Taste (I used about a handful of leaves, maybe 3 tbs. in all)
• 1 whole (juice Of) Lemon
• Chicken breasts (thighs or legs are her preferred method)
• Salt To Taste
• 2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
• Butter (1 Pat For Each Piece Of Chicken)

Preparation Instructions

I used my mini-chopper and threw in the garlic, the juice of a whole lemon, and the parsley. I pulsed it a few times. Then added in the yogurt and pulsed it a few more times. Then I poured that mixture into a shallow dish.

Rinse chicken and pat it dry. Sprinkle with (kosher) salt.

In another bowl, place the bread crumbs. Sprinkle with salt and stir lightly.

Butter a baking dish. With a pair of tongs, place the chicken, one piece at a time into the yogurt mixture. Turn it over thoroughly to coat. Then roll the chicken in the Panko bread crumbs. Cover each piece thoroughly with bread crumbs and place in the baking dish.

Place a slice of butter over the large part of each chicken piece. Cover with foil and bake in a 350º oven for 1 to 1 ¼ hours, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking (it might take a little longer). When the chicken is nice and golden, remove from the oven and enjoy!

VERDICT--This chicken was so delicious it made me clean my pantry!!!! It was so juicy, it had such great flavor, it was really easy and I will be making it again very soon. The original recipe was for 2 cups of yogurt but there was so much left when I was done, I changed my version to reflect just 1 cup of yogurt. I think it will bump up the flavor too, which was good but I bet its even better next time.. I am going to make sure I always have what I need to make this chicken in a pinch because it is now my go-to recipe!