Chicken dish loses lots of fat

By Kathy Manweiler

When company comes over, Carolin Cattoi-Demkiw and her husband like to serve Bruschetta Chicken.

“It looks like we fussed, but it’s fast and easy to fix,” she writes in her entry to “The Taste of Home Cookbook.” “It usually prompts recipe requests.”

Her recipe was already delicious, but I wanted to make it a little more nutritious.

In the original recipe, the chicken is breaded with flour, buttered breadcrumbs and plenty of Parmesan cheese. But I trim some calories and fat by using seasoned breadcrumbs and less Parmesan cheese. I also give the breading a healthy boost by tossing in some wheat germ.

To make my breading stick, I use light mayonnaise instead of eggs and butter.

If you want to take a shortcut on the tomato topping, you can use some canned Italian-style diced tomatoes (seasoned with basil, garlic and oregano.) Just use a strainer to drain the canned tomatoes well before putting them on the chicken.

My alterations to this recipe cut the calories by 24 percent. You can have a serving of my Bruschetta Chicken for 277 calories and 11 grams of fat.

KATHY’S BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN

Ice water

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1‚Ñ4 cup light mayonnaise

1‚Ñ4 cup Italian-style seasoned breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons wheat germ

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking spray

1 cup tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon salt

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Set a rack on a foil-lined roasting pan. Spray the rack generously with cooking spray.

Put the chicken in a large bowl of ice water.

Put the breadcrumbs, wheat germ and Parmesan cheese in a pie plate and combine well.

Combine the tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.

One at a time, remove the chicken breasts from the ice water and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off fat. Between two sheets of wax paper, pound the chicken breast with a mallet or rolling pin until it is about 1‚Ñ3-inch thick.

Brush a tablespoon of light mayonnaise on each piece of chicken until coated thoroughly, then transfer the chicken to the pie plate and bread each piece. Put the chicken on the prepared rack and spray each piece lightly with cooking spray. Repeat process with remaining chicken breasts.

Place the roasting pan in the oven and bake chicken for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the coating crisps and browns. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and spoon the tomato mixture evenly over each chicken breast. Return to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tomato mixture is heated through.

Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 277 calories, 11 fat grams, 70mg cholesterol, 611mg sodium, 29 protein grams, 1.3 fiber grams, 12 carb grams.

Adapted from a recipe in “The Taste of Home Cookbook.”