classy but trashy

Classhy Prince n' Pauper T.V. Dinners

Bitchin' Chicken

Part 2- Cooking Challenge

Fried chicken is a once yearly tradition in my family. On Father’s Day we grab a bucket and some sides from the local KFC and have a picnic on the beach or in any given park. For the life of me I can not figure out how this ritual came to be… at no point during the course of the year is there ever a collective pining for fried chicken. In fact, the name “Kentucky Fried Chicken” isn’t even uttered, nor does “bucket” mean anything besides the plastic 5 gallon version until about 1:00pm on the third Sunday in June. Perhaps it’s just that that one spread of extra crispy with coleslaw, mac n’ cheese and biscuits is enough to tie us all over for the whole year. Maybe 365 days is just long enough to forget the subsequent stabbing stomach pains from the picnic past. Whatever the case, fried chicken is also an all around American tradition and was immortalized as such when included as one of the four original T.V. dinners.


There are countless ways to prepare fried chicken including variations of meat prep, skin coatings and cooking methods. Without access to a bubbling vat of oil (nor particularly wishing for one) I decided to go the healthier route and make mine a baked “fried” chicken. With the help of a bag of Harvest Cheddar SunChips, some egg whites and a little butter spray, Bitchin’ Chicken is just that!


2 organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
¼ large bag Harvest Cheddar SunChips
4 egg whites in a bowl
Spray butter
Extra seasonings to taste


-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
-Crush chips in a zipper style storage bag. A rolling pin works well for this. Note: the smaller the pieces, the better. The chip dust will coat the chicken well while the slightly larger pieces will add crunchy texture.

-Add some seasonings to your chip powder if desired. The chips are already pretty flavorful, but if you want an extra kick, a little cayenne or S&P won’t hurt!

-One breast at a time, first dip in egg whites, coating evenly. Immediately transfer to bag of crumbs and roll about until well covered in chips.

-Coat a square baking dish with non stick spray (I use spray butter)

-Place chippy breasts in baking dish and give each a couple spritzes of butter. Press some additional chip pieces onto breasts until well covered. Spray again and put in oven.

-Bake uncovered 1 hour

-At the ½ hour and 45 minute marks, lightly spray the breasts again

This week I was once again faced with a mashed potato side. Since I got away with a cauliflower mash on the last one, I decided to keep it real for my final challenge by sticking with potatoes. There really is a lot you can do with this classic side, so I let my imagination run wild! Since I had to keep the dish entirely white for the photo part of the challenge, I picked leeks and brie cheese as my additions to the potatoes.

Serves 2

1 large russet potato

1 medium leek, only white part sliced in rounds
3/4 wedge brie cut width wise into approx 1/8th inch slices
¼ cup milk
1/8 cup Smart Balance
White pepper and salt


-Peel and cut potato into large cubes. Boil in well salted water until very soft (approx 40 min)
-Sauté leek in 1 tbsp Smart Balance until cooked, but not browned
-After leeks cool, chop rounds into small pieces
-Once potato is boiled, put in large mixing bowl and coarsely mash with potato masher
-Add Smart Balance and milk, mash a little more
-Add brie and leeks
-White pepper and salt to taste
-Mash until brie is melted and potatoes are smooth and well mixed

Corn, also, has been a common side throughout my T.V. dinner adventure. While it was completely unavoidable for the friend chicken meal, I was not about to surrender to the mind numbing and palate dumb-ing prospect of just another pile of boiled yellow corn. I felt it was very necessary, once again, to stick to the same colors found in the original dinner so I created an easy yet delicious hash of golden hominy, yellow bell pepper and yellow squash.

Serves 2

½ can of golden hominy

¼ yellow bell pepper, evenly chopped

½ yellow squash, evenly chopped

1 tbsp Smart Balance

Garlic salt

-Heat Smart Balance in non-stick sauté pan
-Add vegetables and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently 2-3 minutes
-Cover for about 30 seconds, stir, sprinkle very lightly with garlic salt, repeat
-Remove from heat once pepper and squash are just cooked through. Do not allow veggies to brown.


Note: Squash cooking times are sometimes tough to gauge since the vegetable will continue cooking itself once removed from the heat. I take mine off the stove, out of the oven or off the grill about 30 seconds sooner than seems comfortable. Keep a close eye on them squashies!

I was absolutely thrilled with the visual results of all the components. The potatoes were white, the hash was bright yellow and that chicken! Oh how golden and flaky it was! I was very excited about my SunChip chicken “skin” since it really maintained its crispy integrity and didn’t fall off the chicken as soon as it was cut into. It was very yummy and my conventionally fried chicken obsessed taster was raving at the technique. Bitchin’!

Being a vegetable lover, it was my two sides which really made me excited. This having been only my second time making mashed potatoes, I have to say I think I’ve found my future holiday potato recipe. As someone who’s always loved a little texture in my taters, these were unforgettable. The perfect creaminess of the potatoes is broken up by pieces of tender leek and slivers of brie rind which just melt in your mouth. I had thirds. And then more for dessert.

My only regret of the night was not making more hash! The simplicity of the execution of this dish combined with the distinct, bursting flavors of all its ingredients makes for a new favorite. If you come to my house this summer, expect this hash served with your eggs and tucked into your tacos! Yum!

Come back throughout May for this month's Classh Courses- a peek at some of my favorite classhy Mexican dishes in honor of Cinco de Mayo!