Coconut & Sesame Baked Chicken

Go ahead, shoot me for what I am about to say.

I am not a huge fan of fried chicken.

Sorry. Okay, I like it, I do. But I don’t want to make it. It’s messy, takes too long, dirties about 700 dishes, and I’m left wiping oily splashes off my backsplash, floor, child and pets for several days.

Not worth it, especially when I can make a run to Bojangles if I really need a fix…which isn’t often.

But I do LOVE Baked Chicken.

My grandmother, when she was alive, used to make the best Oven Fried Chicken…or Shake and Bake. I was very young when she died, but I can still remember seeing the baking pans of chicken thighs emerging from the oven, coated in that bready goodness. My mom always made legs or breasts for us, but not my grandmother…she had the one piece leg/thigh combo. Strange the things you recall and assimilate.

But I digress.

Let me get back to the bird at hand.

Quite often I make an oven baked chicken for us for dinner. It’s quick, it’s easy, and good gravy is it ever delicious. I usually use a combination of bread crumbs and panko, but one night, I was out of luck. No bread crumbs in the house. And, if you know me at all, you know I hate to leave the comfort of my own home, even if I really need something from the store…I can’t help it. I’m a hermit.

What to do??

Luckily, necessity breeds ingenuity, so, I opened the cabinets and rooted around, like hermits have to do.

Wasa. Wasa had just sent me a few boxes of their flatbread crackers, and the Sesame box was staring right at me. We had been nibbling on a box of the Original flavor for a few days (coated in peanut butter, Biscoff, or Nutella, of course), but could I use this stuff on my chicken?? Why not?Crackers are made of bread. I have a food processor. See where I’m going?

To amp up the tropical flavor, I added shredded coconut and some panko, coated the chicken, and served it alongside my sticky coconut rice (yum). We also had gingered carrots, and that rounded out a wonderfully flavorful and simple meal, ready in under an hour, start to finish. You can’t beat that. I was thrilled with the flavor of the Wasa cracker coating, and it went with the coconut better than I had even hoped. It would be a fantastic coating for shrimp, which I fully intend to make in the very near future! Give it a try!

Coconut and Sesame Baked Chicken

• 2 packs (6.7 ounces) Wasa Sesame Flatbread Crackers, pulverized
• 1 cup panko style bread crumbs
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into strips)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine cracker crumbs, panko, coconut and salt in bowl that is wide enough to dip chicken into.

Scramble the eggs in a separate wide bowl. Dip each piece of prepared chicken in the egg, then dip into bowl of crumb/coconut mix. Press crumbs onto all sides of the chicken, and place in casserole pan. Repeat with remaining chicken. Pour melted butter over each piece of breaded chicken. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or until chicken tests done. Serve and enjoy!

Want to try Wasa (pronounced Vah-sah) for yourself? Wasa has a popular Facebook Page, and they are offering a 75 cent coupon just for “Liking” them! Also, become a Fan of Doughmesstic, and stay tuned…I just may be giving away a few boxes of Wasa here myself in a few days!

On another note…my baby is heading off to his first day of Big Boy School today. Really, it’s just Pre-school, 3 hours a day, 3 days per week. Two weeks ago, I was so ready for him to go. I wanted my free time. Housecleaning time. Nap time. Work time. I wanted TIME.

And now, I can hardly breathe. I used to think mothers that cried about their kids first day of school were insane. I mean, what’s the big deal?

Now I know.

It’s not one little thing, it’s every thing. Once they start, once they are out the door – that’s it.

That’s it.

Wish me luck.

UPDATE:

I have survived my child’s first school day. Whew. We both made it fine, and he’s excited to go back tomorrow!

GIVEAWAY! I have a fab gift pack of Wasa Flatbreads (and other Wasa goodies, too much to mention!) to offer, courtesy of my friends at Wasa! All you need to do to win is comment here and let me know you want it! For a second entry, visit the Wasa FB page and post something you’ve made (or would like to make) on their page. Remember to return here and let me know you did so…and one of you will win this great gift on Saturday! US Addresses only, please.

Good luck!!