A Different Kind of Rice Krispie Treat

I've heard so much about The Pioneer Woman's Crispy Yogurt Chicken, and I've made a couple of other things from her blog, so I decided to go for it. Then after reading more about it, it was hard for some people to get it crispy and I was not a fan of all that butter. Then I came across another blog's healthier adaptation of it, and I went with that one instead.

This is definitely a keeper, I wish the picture turned out better....but give it a try. It was baked and crispy, yet juicy inside, and I served it with a baked potato and peas. I only marinated it for about 2 hours, I'm sure if I had done it longer, it would have been even better.

Oven Fried Chicken with Yogurt
adapted from Reading,Riting and Recipes

* The following quantities are approximates

Chicken parts of your choice - I used breasts
1-2 cups fat free plain yogurt
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
2 cups (or so) of Rice Krispies or Special K cereal (something rice based and puffy) I used Rice Krispies
1 cup (or so) bread crumbs I used panko bread crumbs
Salt & Pepper
Cayenne Pepper I omitted
I added some dried parsley for taste & color, I added some to the bread crumbs as well as a sprinkle on top of the chicken

Mix the yogurt, garlic and lemon together and toss your chicken with it to get it all coated. Let marinate for several hours (but if you have no time, you can skip the marinating and just move on to breading).

Crush the cereal in a food processor or blender. When you have crumbs, add the bread crumbs and season with salt, pepper & cayenne to taste. If you're out of cereal or crumbs, you can use all of one or the other, but the combo is nice and I really love the texture of the cereal in the final product so I'd be more inclined to use all cereal.

Roll the chicken in the coating and get a good thick coating on each piece.Place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with foil. I have found that the Reynolds non-stick foil works really really well for this and makes things nice and crispy. If you don't have it, just spray your regular foil with cooking spray. Spray the tops of the chicken lightly with cooking spray or an olive oil mister.

Bake at 350 until cooked through and the coating is browned and crisp, about an hour for bone-in pieces, 30-45 minutes for boneless.The combination of the release foil and just a touch of spray on the breading gives you a super crisp crust, without any added fat.