The family had spoken!  Our dad made the absolute best chicken–tender, juicy, and flavorful.  No matter the occasion, he was always expected to bring his “Special Italian Chicken,” made from a blend of his secret ingredients.  The real secret is that it’s so easy to prepare, and most likely, you have all the ingredients in your cupboard right now.

This dish is a robust, delicious, figure-friendly alternative to our beloved fried chicken.  Surprise your family and friends, and serve up a basketful at your next picnic or party. WARNING: Be sure to make enough, everyone will be back for seconds and thirds!

Oh, and don’t forget to cash-in your calorie-savings reward, and splurge on Aunt Rose’s decadent Peach Pie. Yes, the one with the whipped topping!

Recipe:  Dad’s Go-To Italian-Style Chicken

Ingredients:

1 – 3 lb. whole chicken, cut-up into serving pieces, or your favorite cut-up parts
1 Tbsp. each of dried Oregano, Basil, Parsley & Garlic Powder
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp.  Black Pepper
½ cup Red Wine Vinegar
½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Rinse the chicken pieces, pat dry, and set aside.  Whisk together the remaining ingredients for the marinade.   Place chicken into in two sealable plastic bags, put equal parts of the marinade in each.  Seal and refrigerate for 1-4 hours, or overnight.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.   Place chicken into a glass dish or aluminum foil pan. Reserve marinade.   Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turn, pour reserved marinade over chicken, and bake for another 30 minutes, or until skin is crispy and golden brown, and chicken is fork tender.

Serves 5

Calories:
Chicken: 1320
Marinade: calculating marinade can be tricky since you don’t really consume all the marinade it’s mostly for flavor. What I do is add up all the calories for the marinade and see how much it makes – in this case 977 calories (Spices 0, Vinegar 22, Olive Oil 955) for 1 cup of marinade (16 tablespoons) then I allow 1 tablespoon per serving. So when I do the math that’s 305 for this recipe.

TOTAL 1625 or 325 per serving!