Chicken Milanese…in the Air Fryer

For the holiday weekend, we took the kids away with some friends of ours and really had the best time! They went skiing, swam in the giant indoor water park and played in the arcade…it was a kids dream! We had to cut our trip a little short as we wanted to get home before the threat of impending snow and ice hit us, so we came home much earlier in the day than we expected. Since we had more time at home and no food in the house, I figured I would hit up the grocery store and stock up. Normally, on such a cold and rainy evening, I would opt for a hearty and comforting meal to warm us up. But along with this kid friendly weekend came a lot of kid friendly food – for the kids and adults. Our meals mainly consisted of chicken fingers, french fries, and pizza on repeat (with some nachos and tacos thrown in). So once we came home, each tipping the scale a little more than before, I decided we needed a lighter dish. This is where my new favorite appliance comes in – the Air Fryer.

That’s right…frying with AIR! Anything that you would normally shallow fry in a pan or deep fry you can cook in the air fryer with a fraction of the oil while still getting a crispy outside and an m-word* inside. (* – see below)

Yes, here is where I explain “m-word.” I HATE the word moist. I even had trouble typing it right there, and that may be the only time I ever type that word in the blog…ever! I can’t say it, write it, think it…it just doesn’t sit right with me and I can’t get over it. So my husband and friends will tell you that in every day conversation, when I want to say it, I just say “m-word” and they all know what I mean. In college my guy friends had a field day with this aversion. Whenever we went to wing night on Tuesday nights, the guys would take the wet naps, toss them at me and ask me if I wanted any “m-word towelettes,” but using the real word of course. Funny to everyone else, disturbing to me. So there you go with the explanation – you can expect to see the “m-word” sporadically throughout the blog, and now you know why. And yes, I know I’m nuts! Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post.

After all the fatty food I consumed over the weekend, I knew I needed some salad in my life. So Air Fryer Chicken Milanese came to mind as the perfect easy, healthy and satisfying meal. My Mother-in-law always says that she doesn’t order chicken in a restaurant because she can easily make it at home, and I couldn’t agree more. Not only is this easy to make, but I will argue it is better (and certainly healthier) than any Chicken Milanese I have ever ordered. The process starts with a little help from the grocery store. I buy thin cut chicken breasts, so it eliminates the need to pound out the chicken. Though you can refer to my previous post about Chicken Caprese to see that sometimes, I don’t want to skip that step.

Start by setting up your dredging station. This consists of 3 plates – 1 with flour, 1 with beaten eggs and 1 with a mix of Panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, seasoned with salt and pepper. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken cutlets, then send them down the assembly line – lightly coat in the flour, dip in the egg, then coat with the Panko mixture. This process not only creates your crispy crust but also ensures that it sticks to the chicken. Nothing is worse than chicken with the crispy crust falling off.

Once the chicken is breaded, put them in the air fryer basket, give them a quick spray of olive oil spray and pop them in the air fryer for 10 minutes flipping them halfway through.

By the way, while I had the air fryer out and going, I decided to throw in a batch of homemade fish sticks for the kids. Same exact process but instead of chicken breasts, I cut up a cod filet. So delicious and the kids loved them! #momwin!

Okay, once again back on track. While the chicken is cooking, throw the salad together. Start with baby arugula. I love arugula in this recipe because of the slight bitterness that it brings to each bite. With the sweet tomatoes in the salad and the balsamic vinegar, the arugula really stands up and adds a nice punch of freshness to the dish. Wash the arugula, and add in thinly sliced red onion and halved cherry tomatoes. This is where you can adjust the recipe to your taste. You don’t like raw red onion? Leave it out! Add in some bell peppers or thinly sliced cucumbers. Anything goes!

Toss the salad together with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. When the chicken is finished, place 2 chicken cutlets on a plate and top with salad. Tada! Chicken Milanese! Add a glass of wine and your healthy meal is complete – that’s right, red wine is good for the heart!