Honey Mustard Chicken and Fancy Green Beans

This is my take on classic oven fried chicken, and this recipe does really well with chicken drumsticks, which are relatively inexpensive.

First you want to preheat your oven to 375.  Next you need to make the wet ingredients, in you bowl mix: 1 egg, spicy mustard, fancy mustard, honey, and a tiny pinch of salt.  Then to the dry ingredients:  1 part cornstarch, 1 part flour, 2 parts bread crumbs; spice with pepper, poultry spice, parmesean cheese, and sage.

A great tip to remember when breading anything is "wet hand, dry hand"  Take a chicken leg with your left hand and roll it in the honey mustard egg wash.  Then Take you right hand, dry hand, and roll the leg in the bread crumbs and sprinkle the dry mixture for an even coat.

Arrange the chicken on the pan so that the drippings won't contaminate another piece of chicken, you want a crisp crust, not a black blood stained crust.

Put the chicken in the oven for about an hour.  If you want the crust to be even you can turn it. We don't have the greatest oven, so I chose not to turn it to insure that the chicken wouldn't stick.  Let the chicken cook for about an hour, when you notice the  meat and skin is starting to break away from the bone it is done.

About a half an hour later, I started the green beans.  I used frozen green beans and pearl onions.  I broiled them on the stove, until the were firmly soft.  While the green beans were boiling, I microwaved some turkey bacon until crispy, and sauteed some mushrooms in about an teaspoon of oil and black pepper.  Once the beans were done, I drained the beans, crumbled the bacon, and added the mushrooms into the mixture.  I spiced with black pepper and garlic powder, and coated the beans with a couple tablespoons of blue agave syrup, and dusted them with Romano cheese.  

I also prepared some box mac and cheese, garnished with black pepper and parsley, and then I plated our dinner.  

Eating healthy and well is important.  It is sometimes hard to balance convenience, price, and nutrition.  One way to do this is to eat a well balanced proportioned mean with cheaper ingredients.  This meal had starches from the macaroni and breading, healthy fat from the dark meat and cheese sauce.  Dairy from the romano and cheese sauce, two servings of veggies from the fancy grean beans, and protein from the turkey bacon and chicken.  However, this meal is high in sodium, so beware when preparing a meal like this.  I didn't add salt to anything but the egg wash, and when you buy your spices try to get them with no sodium added (NSA).  This entire meal cost about 8 dollars.

The other way to save money is by taking your lunch to work with you, since I am not able to leave the building to buy food this is a requirement for me.  Preparing a meal like this one, which can render 2 warm meals and two plate lunches, is a good way to keep proportions under control.

And doesn't this look more appetizing than a tv dinner box, or a fast food bag?