Wheat Germ & Thyme Breaded Chicken

I saw on a tv program a few months back where woman on a strict diet used wheat germ to bread her baked chicken instead of bread crumbs. I didn't have a recipe for this, just the idea, so I thought I would try to create something similar. I frequently use wheat germ in cooking, as it is a healthy alternative to refined carbs, so I thought this would be simple enough. Well, it was simple, but it did not turn out as I had originally envisioned.

Since baking chicken breasts can sometimes leave them dry and flavorless, I decided to marinate them in lemon juice (which I think pairs well with thyme), olive oil and a little salt and pepper. After marinating about 3 hours, I patted them dry, coated them in an egg wash and rolled them in wheat germ and dried tyme. They looked and smelled delicious. I baked them on an elevated wire rack, in hopes that they would crisp up on all sides. No such luck, even with coating the rack with cooking spray, when I pulled the chicken off the rack the entire bottom tore off and stuck to the rack. Fabulous. And, the breading was barely crisp. It ended up tasting really good, the chicken was very tender, but the breading was just a bit of a mess. Oh well, you win some you lose some. I whipped up a lemony sour cream dip to accompany the chicken and it was all good (1/4 cup sour cream, 1 T lemon juice, 1/2 tsp dried parsley)

The real winner of tonight's meal was the roasted garbanzo beans. So good. So easy. Combined with a side of couscous with roasted red peppers and walnuts, the dinner actually came together nicely. 

Roasted Garbanzo Beans

1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 T olive oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch all spice

pinch cloves

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. In a small bowl combine all of the spices together. In a medium bowl, toss the garbanzo beans, olive oil and spice mixture and coat well. Lay the beans out in a single, even layer on a baking sheet and bake 50-60 minutes until roasted. You may need to stir them or give the pan a shake a few times during roasting. The beans should be a toasty color and crunchy. If they come out chewy, they need to roast longer.