Chicken Kiev: It Can Be Slimmed Down More Easily Than You Think

I know what you're thinking. "Heather, this is chicken Kiev. There is no way to slim this down at all." Ah, but you would be wrong, my friend.
I was out of regular bread crumbs, so I used some panko I had in the pantry and seasoned it with Italian seasoning, basil, a bit of seasoned salt and pepper. For my egg wash, I used milk which I soured with orange juice and three eggs. I use more milk than eggs in my egg wash because I think it gives a better flavor and keeps the meat moister than when you use more egg.
I did use butter for my filling because the entire point of chicken Kiev is the butter that comes shooting out when you puncture it, but I don't use as much of it as is traditional and I flavored it with some orange zest to add a bit of oomph to my dish.
Traditionalists will tell you that for it to be a proper chicken Kiev, it has to be deep fried. I am here to tell you that is far from the truth. A 350 degree oven for 45 minutes gets the breading nice, brown and crispy without all the guilt that frying will give you.
Again, I hate to waste food, so while I was waiting for my chicken Kiev to cook, I scrambled the egg wash for an appetizer. A little bit of panko in scrambled eggs really makes a difference in terms of fluffiness.
You may be noticing the lack of color in the photo above. No, I didn't forget vegetables; I steamed some cauliflower, so it only looks like I failed to remember vegetables.
Will raved about this dish as well; he says it's one of my best recipes and that I should continue using the panko. Also, for those of you complaining about caloric counts, we each only ate half of the breast on each of our plates. Neither of us can eat a full breast of chicken by ourselves, but it proves quite useful for lunch the next day.