The Bodega Chef: First Installment

As many of you know I’ve taken up cooking pretty passionately. I frequently find that with my work schedule I am rushed to make it to the supermarket so I end up doing some of my shopping at my local bodega and pairing it with items I have in my freezer and spice rack. As I don’t think I’m the only one afflicted by this time crunch, I’ve decided to start this column.

Related: This bodega in Brooklyn had just that idea, challenging people to come up with a Thanksgiving sidedish using only ingredients from the bodega.

Here are the rules: Any meat, any spices, the rest of the ingredients must be available from one of the bodegas within a 3 block radius from me.
sidenote: I typically keep chicken and ground beef or turkey in the freezer and I have a pretty decent collection of spices.

The Bodega Chef: Betty Crocker's Crunchy Garlic Chicken



¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or parsley (use dried parsley)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups Whole Grain Total cereal, crushed to 1 cup (note: I’ve also tried this successfully with Special K)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (use dried parsley)
½ teaspoon paprika
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ¾ lbs)

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray (or use butter). In shallow dish, mix 2 tablespoons of the butter, the milk, chives/parsley, salt and garlic powder.
2. In another shallow dish, mix crushed cereal, parsley and paprika. Dip chicken into milk mixture, then coat lightly and evenly with cereal mixture. Place in pan. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
3. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F)

Nutrition Information
1 Serving: Calories 280 (Calories from Fat 110); Total Fat 12g (Saturated Fat 6g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 100mg; Sodium 410mg; Total Carbohydrate 11g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 3g); Protein 30g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 15%; Vitamin C 25%; Calcium 45%; Iron 50% Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 4 Very Lean Meat; 2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.