Life Happens...

I was just sitting here the other night thinking about writing a new post but then the boys got in an argument over something trivial, which turned into a wrestling match.  Off I went to play referee and the posting was soon forgotten about.  I logged on today thinking that it hadn't been THAT long since I posted...Ha!  Well I think 3 months is THAT long...But life happens and things that aren't as important get pushed to the bottom of the list for another day...

I herniated a disk in my back and had to have surgery, so for about 2 months I couldn't stand to sit at the computer anyway.  I am thankfully on the mend and my back is back to new.  My leg and foot are still numb but we are waiting to see if feeling returns.  So now that I am mostly back to normal I am back in the kitchen and ready to start cooking again.  I am really excited about trying some new things since we have recently made some BIG changes in our diets, eating mostly organics and non-processed whole foods.  The transition has gone a lot better than I thought it would since I have some confirmed "junk food junkies" under my roof.  I have a major sugar addiction and have decided to go cold turkey and not eat candy anymore...It was hard at first and I did have a few grumpy withdrawal days but now I am getting to a point where I don't really crave sweets anymore.  YAY!! 

So, one of the things I knew that Jared and the boys would not want to give up was chicken tenders and french fries (a FAVORITE meal around here).  I had resisted trying sweet potatoes for a while since I thought that Cameron would have an issue with it.  I finally tried them last week and he LOVED them.  He even told me he liked them more than regular fries.  One more food victory for me!!

I made them again tonight with some panko crusted chicken tenders...I found a healthy and reasonable substitute for our regular fried chicken and french fry feasts...Everyone's happy and who doesn't love that!!  I can't really say I have a recipe, I just kind of threw everything together.  So here's the method...

I used 2 large sweet potatoes.  Peel them and cut them in half.  Cut each half into 1/4 inch or so slices and then cut each slice into strips.  Make sure you use a good quality, sharp knife, sweet potatoes are hard to cut.  Preheat your oven to about 425 degrees.  Place the strips in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil...I use light olive oil, the extra virgin is a little too strong for my boys, they don't like it.

 I found this at the grocery store this week.  Soooo nice, my hands don't smell like garlic and no cloves to peel and mince..easy peasy, just how I like it.  So anyway, throw in some garlic and lots of pepper, and some salt.

Now toss them up really well so the season gets distributed evenly on each slice.  Place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper, in a SINGLE layer.  I do 2 sheets to fit them all.

Now pop them in the oven for a good 40-50 minutes until browned and cooked through...Now, I am lucky enough to have a convection fan in my oven so I always turn it on for the last 10 minutes.  It's not necessary, but it does help them brown nicely.  If you have a convection oven, try it, if not, they'll still be great :)

I also made some great panko crusted chicken tenders with them.  Really simple.  I used regular boneless skinless breasts and cut them into strips, but you could buy them already cut in the meat section at the store.  I salted and peppered the chicken BEFORE I coated it.  A lot of people forget this when they bread things.  SEASON your meat people..really it makes a tremendous difference in the taste.  Now I just beat 3 eggs whites with a little bit of water and put my strips in that.  Then, I took some panko crumbs and SEASONED them.  Don't forget this step, panko are really bland if you don't season them.  I just use some pepper a little tiny bit of salt and some Mrs. Dash (my blood pressure is high so I need to cut down on the salt).  Dip your chicken in the panko and press them to coat them with the crumbs.  I place mine on a cookie sheet with a rack in it so they get extra crispy, but you could place them right on the sheet and then flip them halfway through.  I baked mine at 425 (with the fries) for about 20 minutes.  They were so good!!