What's on the menu for a quick meal after work? Chances are it will be poultry of some sort. Ground turkey and boneless chicken breasts have been on the dinner hit parade for some years now.

A conscientious cook can dig out hidden pockets of fat from the chosen chicken pieces, slip off the skin if desired, proceed to bake or grill or saute and have a fairly low-fat entree in no time. Sure, it's healthier than fried. Even better, it's fast. A quick chick, for sure.Now that the weather is cool, most cooks don't mind turning on the oven. It makes a kitchen cozy. So you can have baked chicken breasts in a golden-brown coat of crumbs in about 20 minutes if the oven's set at 400 degrees. The crumbs take the place of the missing chicken skin.

The aroma is divine while the chicken is baking, and it emerges from the oven looking tempting.

With turkey as with chicken, the trick is to do away with blandness.

In honor of the approaching Pilgrim holiday, make turkey meatballs with cornflake crumbs and douse them in a chili-cranberry sauce.

Recipes

PARMESAN CHICKEN BREASTS

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)

2 tablespoons melted margarine or butter

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1 teaspoon each dried oregano leaves and parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon each paprika, salt, black or red pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 15x10x1-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Dip chicken in melted margarine or butter and coat with mixture of remaining ingredients. Place chicken in single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken, or just until cooked through. Serves 6.

CRANBERRY TURKEY MEATBALLS

2 pounds ground raw turkey

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 cup cornflake crumbs

1 egg or 2 egg whites

1/3 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

3 green onions, finely chopped with tops

Hot sauce, as desired, or a teaspoon of minced hot chile

Cranberry sauce:

1 (16-ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 small bottle chili sauce (tested with Heinz)

View Comments

Cooked rice

In large mixing bowl, combine raw turkey with soy sauce, cornflake crumbs, egg, ketchup, mustard, green onions and hot sauce or minced chile. Mix well. Shape into golf-ball-size meatballs. Do not brown. Have oven heating to 350 degrees.

For cranberry mixture, mash the canned cranberry sauce in medium saucepan and stir in lemon juice, brown sugar and chili sauce. (Add a touch of mustard to taste, if desired.) Heat, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until smoothly melted and blended.

Place uncooked meatballs in a shallow roasting pan or baking dish (10x6 inches). Pour warm sauce over the top and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and sauce is thickened and bubbly. Serve over rice. Serves 8.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.