Dishing It Up!

by Victoria Mattson

Victoria Mattson is a local cook, confectionaire and writer. She offers healthy and nutritious recipes and food tips in each issue of North County Outlook. Phone (360) 658-9903 or e-mail victoria@northcountyoutlook.com.

Congratulations to the "Be a Loser" teams who have just posted third month results. Did team "Curvin' It" maintain their spot atop the leader board?

This recipe for Parmesan-crusted Chicken will help you achieve your weight loss goal. It has a large yum factor, yet each 4 oz. serving contains only 200 calories with just 7 grams of fat. And as a bonus, it's very easy to fix!

The yum factor comes from combining parmesan cheese, panko breadcrumbs and olive oil, resulting in a topping with a cheesy crunch. This versatile mixture is baked atop skinless, boneless chicken breasts in this recipe, but could also be used on top of pork chops, fish filets, casseroles, or roasted vegetables.

The crunchiness in this recipe is due mainly to the Panko breadcrumbs, which have been called "a secret ingredient for crunch." They are Japanese breadcrumbs that have been processed in a unique way, resulting in flakes rather crumbs. An added bonus: unlike traditional breadcrumbs, Panko breadcrumbs are made without hydrogenated oils! Panko can be substituted for plain breadcrumbs in most recipes. Find Panko in the Asian section of the grocery store, or alongside other breadcrumbs.



Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breasts



4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 oz each)

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning



Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the chicken breasts evenly in the dish. Spread each chicken breast with 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard.

Mix all the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl. Spread 2 tablespoons breadcrumb mixture on top of each chicken breast.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of

165˚F.

Victoria and Jim Mattson are retiring from Let's Dish! at the end of April. Victoria will continue writing this column and sharing ways to make meal preparation easy, fun and delicious. You can contact her at Victoria@northcountyoutlook.com or by phone at (360) 658-9903.