Zaycon Foods Boneless Chicken Review

 My family eats a lot of boneless chicken breast.  I normally purchase it on sale for $1.99 at either Kroger, Martin's, Costco, or Sams; however, once I get it home sometimes it is a gamble as to the quality of the chicken and what I can't see in the package.  Back in the summer I saw a review for Zaycon Foods in a magazine and since I love to save money and buy quality products, I was very interested in checking the company out.   After researching online, I decided to make my first purchase and I bought 40 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.84 lb.  The 40 lb box was $73.60.  I went online to www.zayconfoods.com and looked for upcoming events, near where I live and found one about 20 miles away. They deliver to areas several times a year and you can buy fresh chicken in 40 pound boxes.  Once I placed my order and paid online, all I had to do was go pick it up at the scheduled time and place.  They did need to delay it one day, but informed me of the change ahead of time.  I went to a church parking lot and picked up my box. They put a large piece of plastic in the back of my svu and put the box, pictured below in the back for me.  The chicken was cold, from the refridgerated truck and I could tell it had not been frozen.

 When I got home I opened up the box and found a sealed bag.  I cut the bag open and found several bags inside. 

 I pulled the first 2 chicken breasts out one of the bags and was very pleased to see how big the breasts were and how good they looked with minimal fat.  Trimming them and repackaging into meal portion bags went quickly, since there wasn't much to trim away.  In fact, I ended up with less than 2 pounds of fat and skin from the entire box, much less than I would normally end up with from the store brands.

 While we were repackaging the breast, we cut several up and grilled them for dinner and leftovers.  They were delicious.  I am very happy with ease of the transaction, the quality of the chicken breast, and the overall taste.  Each breast was approx. 1 pound and I was able to divide them easily into smaller portion controled servings.  I plan on ordering from them again.  They have other items and I  have already placed myself on the waiting list for bacon and in the spring, plan on placing an order for the 93/7 Ground Beef.  I highly recommend you check them out, if you get the opporunity.

Chicken Cordon Bleu-low calorie

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
6--3 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces
2 slices wheat bread
1/2 cup fresh spinach
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 
6 slices ham*
6 slices swiss cheese
3 egg whites

*I used a package of costco that has 4 slices for 70 calories, allowing me to use 4 thin slices per portion. 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Lay slices of chicken between waxed paper and pound with a mallet to thin out slices.

Place one slice of ham and cheese on each slice of chicken.  Fold in half or roll up if you prefer.

In a food processor, mix bread, spinach, italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese.
place egg whites in one bowl and bread mixture in another bowl.

Dip chicken in egg wash and then in bread mixture, before placing on cooking sheet.

Spray top with cooking spray and cook 25 minutes or until cooked thru.  

Under 230 calories a piece.

Low Calorie Baked Chicken Nuggets

A nutritionist suggested we start using Fiber One Cereal while cooking, to bulk up the amount of fiber in our diets.  Using this crushed, allows me to use it as a coating, in sauces, and even in granola.  The cereal to us is nasty tasting as a cereal, but it does not change the taste  when used in cooking.

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken cut into chunks
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup crushed fiber one cereal
3 TBSP Flax seed
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
1.  Mix bread crumbs, crushed fiber one cereal, and flax seed in a shallow bowl or plate.  Pour 1/4 cup milk into another bowl.
2.  Preheat oven to 400.  Spray baking sheet with olive oil spray.
3.  Dip chicken chunks into milk and then dip into bread crumb/fiber one mixture.  Press mixture into chicken and place on baking sheet.
4.  Spray chicken nuggest with olive oil spray and bake for 10 minutes.  Turn chicken over and spray with olive oil and bake for another 10 minutes or until done.  These chicken nuggets are very crunchy without the fat. 

Makes 4 servings 166 calories each.

Spinach-Sauced Chicken Breast Halves

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cut into 4 oz portions
3/4 cup Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Scallions
2 TBSP Butter
2 TBSP Flour
1 cup milk
1 bag of fresh spinach or 1 10oz box chopped frozen spinach
4 oz diced Ham
Chopped mushrooms, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan.  Coat Chicken w/crumb mixture and arrange in a rectangle baking dish.

In a saucepan cook green onions(and mushrooms if using) in butter.  Stir in flour and milk until thickened and bubbly.  Stir in spinach and ham. Cook an additional 2 minutes.

Spoon mixture over chicken, sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.  Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  This reheats really well, so works well for lunch leftovers.

Chicken a la King

My family loves this recipe and I had lost it for several months, so was happy to find it before my son went back to his Navy Base.  We had this as our last family meal together, and his last home cooked meal until he comes home again.  I love cooking for my family and love the fact that recipes can be like songs.  When you make them again, it sometimes makes you recall memorable times together with loved ones.  One of the reasons I decided to include recipes on this blog is so I will have them all in one place. I have recipe boxes, file folders, book case full of cookbooks, recipes on 4 or 5 computers; thus favorite recipes would be lost in the past, but now they will be together in one place, easy to pull out when needed.  On to this great tasting recipe:

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced red pepper
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups half and half*
1 1/2 cups milk(we use skim in our house)*
4 cups cubed or shredded chicken
1 4 ounce jar diced pimentos, drained
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon sherry
1 teaspoon salt
cooked egg noodles or rice

* you can use 3 cups half-and-half or all milk; I choose to use 1 1/2 cups of each, to cut the calories some but also keep the creaminess of the dish

Directions:

In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter.  Once melted, cook mushrooms and peppers for 5 minutes or until tender.

Stir flour until blended.  Gradually stir in half-and-half and milk.  Stir constantly, until thickened.

Add chicken and pimentos.  Heat to boiling, stirring often.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
In cup, stir yolks until mixed.  Stir in a little of the hot sauce from pan, then slowly stir mixture back into sauce, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping.  Cook, stirring, until thickened.
Stir in sherry and salt and spoon mixture over cooked egg noodles or rice.