quinoa crusted chicken with apple salad

 

Testing one two three, are my apples ripe?  I want to harvest before the birds peck holes in the apples and make a mess of things.  I think they're getting close, maybe next week, although with this heat who knows?  The apple trees are fully loaded with the branches pulling down from the weight.  Last year I didn't get one single apple, well ok maybe one single apple but I don't know what went wrong, maybe a rain storm at the wrong time?  This year is a different story and I can't wait to pick apples, 🍎 🍏 from my backyard.  

This apple salad is creamy with a Greek yogurt mustard herb dressing.  I like varying the flavor by choosing different herbs in the salad dressing.  The quinoa crusted chicken was a lot crispy this time especially since I opted for pan frying.  Because of our heatwave I didn't want to turn on the oven, the chicken is good baked in the oven but not as good as fried, big surprise there.  All in all a good lunch that was enjoyed by both myself and husband, who ate the leftover chicken in the late afternoon before dinner because he was starving, ok.

The skinless boneless chicken breasts can be pounded or cut in half, which is what I did this time, too hot to pound chicken in the kitchen, I guess.

Ingredients and Recipe for Quinoa Crusted Chicken with Apple Salad

serves 2-3

Quinoa Crusted Chicken

1 cup cooked quinoa, cook according to package instructions, fluff in the pan after cooking with a fork

1-2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to sprinkle on top of chicken before serving -optional

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, put your hand on top and carefully cut chicken in half horizontally 

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup quinoa flour, or another gluten-free flour

2 large eggs, beaten

Place fluffy quinoa in a bowl, stir in parsley, salt and pepper.

Place flour and beaten eggs in separate bowls.

Season chicken with salt and black pepper, to taste

Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge chicken in the flour, then dip in the beaten eggs followed by the prepared quinoa.  Gently press the quinoa into the chicken breasts to coat, rest on a plate while heating the oil in a frying pan.  I use a non stick 8" pan and fry two chicken breasts at a time.  Fry the chicken until quinoa is browned on both sides, adding additional oil to the pan as needed.

Alternatively bake coated chicken breasts on an oiled rack over a lined baking sheet in a preheated 375F oven for about 25-30 minutes or until browned and cooked through.

Apple Salad

1 large crisp apple, sliced in julienne 

1 tablespoon minced shallots 

2 small carrots, shredded

1/4 cup golden raisins

2 teaspoons dijon style mustard

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped herbs, mint, parsley and dill

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir together.

Serve the apple salad with the quinoa crusted chicken, sprinkle extra virgin olive oil on chicken if desired.