Isn’t that Polish pottery something else? So is the chicken. Photo credit Steve Henderson Fine Art.

In our house, boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts are fast food, because they take 20-30 minutes to cook. I know. Chicken is mass produced and not under the best conditions, but I close my eyes and buy as natural and as minimally processed a product that I can.

Eating better, and healthier, in this society is a challenge, and it’s a step by step process.

Breaded Chicken is fast and easy, and in the photo above, you’ll notice that I made a meal of this with Yukon Gold French Fries and sauteed kale. It’s a messy photo, I know, and the colorfully patterned plate doesn’t help — but that’s my handcrafted Polish plate, and I love it. Birthdays and holidays the family checks out PolMedia, and bit by bit my collection grows. None of it matches, which is pretty much what my entire house looks like:

Fill your life with the things you enjoy, and free yourself from making everything match.

Those are your words of wisdom for the day, and now let’s get that chicken going:

Simple Breaded Chicken — serves four as the main component of an

Eating together — what an incredible gift that we can enjoy throughout our lives. Afternoon Tea, original oil painting by Steve Henderson; licensed open edition print at Great Big Canvas.

entree

Ingredients:

4 Boneless skinless chicken thighs, thawed

1/2 cup flour, in a bowl or bag

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon of water

3/4 cup crackers or dried bread crumbs, crushed fine (I used Kirkland brand Ancient Grains Crackers from Costco)

One at a time, coat the chicken thighs with the flour; dip them in the egg mixture; and roll them in the crushed crackers. Some people, to keep their hands clean, use one hand to coat the chicken in flour and dip it in the egg mixture; they switch the chicken piece to the other hand to roll in the crackers. If find that, whether I use one hand or two, I get clumps of eggy crackers all over my fingers.

Place the breaded chicken pieces in a greased baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes; flip each piece over and bake 15 minutes more. This is the same amount of time you’ll need for the Yukon Gold French Fries, so you get twice as much work out of your oven for the same amount of money it takes for the utilities to run it.

The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 — mine was nearing 200 degrees at the end of a half hour.

Cook for yourself. Cook For yourself. Cook for yourself. The first three steps to saving money.

That’s it. Do you see why I call boneless, skinless chicken fast food?

Join me Tuesdays for quick, simple, easy, inexpensive recipes. Cooking for yourself is one of the simplest, and easiest things you can do to save money — and in today’s economy, we’re all looking for ways to save money.

My book, Live Happily on Less — which regular readers know that I mention all the time — is a quick, simple, easy, and relatively inexpensive way to get on the right track of living a money saving life.

It doesn’t have to be complicated; it doesn’t have to be difficult; it doesn’t have to be something that makes to sense to you. Live Happily on Less walks you gently through the process, and it doesn’t make you feel stupid, overwhelmed, or paralyzed with fear.

$12.99 paperback, $5.99 digital, free to borrow on AmazonPrime. At Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

“(Carolyn) offers personal examples, and sounds like a wise older sister or aunt or Mom who has learned by doing. She emphasizes that you have to figure out what works best for you.” — Amazon Reader Review