This fried chicken dinner is one that the whole family will love. The chicken is coated in Panko breadcrumbs that are seasoned with Mediterranean flavors. I love to serve it with pizza pasta (both kid-friendly and a favorite for adults too!), a nice salad, and make room for dessert!! Nutella Puff pastry spirals come together with 2 simple ingredients and are perfect with a hot cup of coffee.
The Menu:
- Pizza Pasta: Combine your favorite pasta (I usually go with penne rigate) with marinara sauce, and cheese to create this delicious casserole that tastes better than a pizza.
- Fried Chicken Strips: strips of chicken are coated in a deliciously seasoned panko bread crumb mixture. Crispy and flavorful on the outside and juicy on the inside.
- Greek Chopped Lettuce Salad: light, zesty, and the perfect accompaniment to this hearty meal. Use your favorite lettuce leaves and combine them with thinly sliced scallions and the delicious dressing.
- Nutella Puff Pastry Spirals: all you need is two ingredients to make these: Nutella or your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread and puff pastry. They’re flaky and delicious and perfect with some coffee.
What cut of Chicken to use:
Chicken tenders are great for this recipe as they are already pre portioned. However you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut them into strips just like I did in the recipe or slice them in half to create chicken cutlets. Try to keep the strips as even as possible so that they cook at the same time.
Pizza Pasta
This recipe was created many many years ago. My kids named it Pizza Pasta because it tastes just like a pizza. Only better! Many times I’ll add some meat sauce to the pasta to create a hearty one pan meal.
Feel free to use your favorite pasta to make this dish and your favorite pasta sauce. I usually use penne rigate because it holds sauce between the tubes of pasta and in the ridges. I’ve often substituted fusilli or whatever I had in the pantry to get dinner on the table quickly on those busy weeknights.
I’ve used mozzarella to make this dish without any other cheese addition. However, I find that the combination of mozzarella and gouda adds such great depth of flavor. Use your favorite cheese and let me know how you made it in the comments section, below 🙂
Greek Chopped Lettuce Salad
This is the perfect salad to lighten up this hearty meal. Maroulosalata (lettuce salad, in Greek) is usually made with Romaine lettuce. I usually have a container or two of baby lettuce in my refrigerator so that’s what I used. Combine all of the ingredients together and salad is ready in under 5 minutes. Refreshing, nutritious, and delicious.
Dessert
This dessert is so easy to make. Just 2 ingredients: your favorite hazelnut spread and some puff pastry. That’s it! You can’t beat that and these little puff pastry spirals go great with some hot coffee.
Feel free to substitute jam for the chocolate hazelnut spread.
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Mediterranean Fried Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Oil for frying
- 4 large eggs, beaten with about 4 tablespoons milk, a little salt & black pepper
- 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs, unseasoned
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 4 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic powder
Instructions
Slice the chicken breasts into either cutlets or strips.
Combine all of the dry ingredients together to create the bread crumb mixture.
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.
Combine eggs with milk, salt, and pepper. Whisk together well.
Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet until very hot (approximately 350-360 °F).
Dip chicken breast in egg mixture then dredge in seasoned bread crumbs.
Add coated chicken breasts to the frying pan and cook until golden brown on both sides. About 2-4 minutes per side.
Place the fried chicken strips in a tray that has been lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Serve!
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PIZZA PASTA
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne pasta or your favorite pasta
- 2 (25 ounce) jars of pasta sauce
- lots of shredded mozzarella cheese (about 5 cups) it's Pizza Pasta!!!
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 heaping teaspoons of salt for boiling water plus more to taste
- a few tablespoons olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Ok, so this has been my go to recipe since my beginner cooking days. Hence the store bought pasta sauce. Now, you know what I say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" and this dish definitely is not in any need of fixing....
- The ingredients for this dish are really just a few. Trust me! Everyone will go crazy for this. It really tastes like pizza!! So cheesy and deliciously saucy. My favorite part is the overcooked edges. Yummy!!! Kids love this, adults love it. It's always part of my buffet table when I'm entertaining large crowds. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Boil the pasta with 3 teaspoons of salt in the water for 8 minutes(al dente). This sounds like a lot, but it will not be salty.
- Drain the pasta and place in a lasagna baking pan.
- Pour the 2 jars of pasta sauce over the penne.
- Add some olive oil, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes and some black pepper.
- Mix it up well and add about a cup of the shredded cheese. Mix again and taste the seasoning to check if it needs more salt. Add salt if necessary.
- Sprinkle all the rest of the shredded cheese on the top and spread out.
- Sprinkle a little more basil and a bit of crushed red pepper flakes over the cheese, if you like it a little spicy like I do...
- Cover loosely with a large piece of aluminum foil, tented. Make sure that the foil is not touching the cheese, otherwise the cheese will get stuck on it.
- Bake covered with foil for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until the cheese gets bubbly and the edges get slightly charred. Those are the tastiest part 🙂
- Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes and serve!
- Enjoy!
Chopped Greek Lettuce Salad
Ingredients
- about 4-5 cups of baby lettuce leaves, roughly chopped
- 3-4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- salt, to taste
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
Instructions
Combine the salad greens, scallions, and cucumber in a bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Nutella Puff Pastry Spirals
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry (490 grams) thawed
- approximately 1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 °F, 200 °C.
Lightly dust the work surface with some flour and roll out each sheet of puff pastry about 1 inch larger on all sides.
Spread a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut spread over half of each pastry sheet and fold over.
Cut into strips.
Twist each strip and then roll it into a spiral.
Place the spirals on a baking tray that has been lined with parchment paper.
Chill the pastries in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Bake the tray on the center rack until the spirals are puffed and golden. About 15 minutes.
Serve with tea or coffee. Enjoy!
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Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.