Both of my freezers are just ridiculously full; it could have something to do with zucchini bread but there is just no more room; so it’s time to do one of my; OK probably not my favorite; but I don’t mind cooking with what’s on hand versus doing a full grocery shopping every week. It not only saves me a boatload of money; It makes me be a little more creative and also helps use up things before they go bad. It does take me about a month or so to get both freezers a little less crowded or at least enough that I can tell what the heck is in there.

Here in marks another quandary; I do try to make an effort to mark the containers but sometimes I’m like oh I will know exactly what that is, I’m sure I’ll remember the color of the cover for the marinara sauce is 3 months or even 3 weeks later and I am just so wrong but I still do it; I have issues. The other day I saw a tub of a red sauce I opened it, smelled it and I am not sure what kind of marinara it is or what it was for or from. I do know that I will take it out of the freezer put it in the fridge and in a couple of days I will be making something with it. I mean why would I have saved it if I didn’t have a plan. Yeah pretty thin huh; I think so too.

I took out some chicken thighs and saw a recipe for fried chicken so of course I wanted fried chicken. But I wasn’t up to getting out the oil heating it up and start frying it was getting late it was a weeknight and I just didn’t want to clean up that much of a mess. If you have never tried oven fried chicken, it is a thing and it is pretty damn good. Also if you have never tried Franks Hot Sauce you need to pick up a bottle and put it in your fridge. I use it all the time, it’s not too hot and adds a little heat right when/where you need it.

Oven Fried Chicken

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2 large eggs
1 TBS Dijon mustard
1 TBS honey
1 TBS hot sauce – Franks
Kosher salt and Freshly cracked black pepper
2 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
2 tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ smoked paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
8 chicken thighs

2 pie plates or shallow dish – 1 for the liquid the other for the dry ingredients
In 1 whisk eggs, mustard, honey, hot sauce and salt and pepper
In the other add the panko, paprika, cayenne, garlic and salt and pepper whisk to combine

Dredge the chicken in the wet ingredients and then into the dry ingredients pressing the breadcrumbs as needed.

Place chicken on a wire rack over a sheet tray. You can line the tray with tinfoil to help with cleanup and spray the wire rack with nonstick spray. Make sure the chicken are not touching and lightly spray with the nonstick spray, they do make an olive oil one that is quite nice. It helps brown and crisp up the chicken in the oven.
In the upper rack of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes until chicken is about 140 degrees; browned and crispy. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

Recipe adapted from the Neelys