Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Ingredients

Canola oil cooking spray
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 large egg whites
1 pound chicken tenders, (see Ingredient Note)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.

2. Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a food processor; process until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed throughout, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in oil; process until combined. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.

3. Whisk egg whites in a second shallow dish. Add chicken tenders and turn to coat. Transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly. (Discard any remaining egg white and almond mixture.) Place the tenders on the prepared rack and coat with cooking spray; turn and spray the other side.

4. Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes

Ingredient note: Chicken tenders, virtually fat-free, are a strip of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of the chicken breast, but they can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries, chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded "chicken fingers."

One cook's comment: "Perfect replacement for fried chicken fingers. You get the health benefits of the almonds, but it also satisfies that craving for fried food. Excellent recipe for kids and toddlers! We used chicken breasts cut into smaller strips (instead of chicken tenders) and they were great."

Nutrition Information

Per serving: 174 calories; 4 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 66 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrates; 27 g protein; 1 g fiber; 254 mg sodium; 76 mg potassium.

Home Made Bread

1 1/2 C Water
1 1/2 T applesauce
1/4 C Honey
1 t Salt
2 C Multi-grain flour
2 1/2 C Bread flour
2 t yeast

Activate the yeast in the honey and water. Put all the ingredients together and mix well with a dough hook 3-5 minutes. Form and put into a pan to raise in a warm place. Cover it with a warm damp towel. Let raise about 2-3 hours. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Red Onion Salad

This has to be one of my all time FAVORITE salads. It is totally unhealthy, I am sure, but it makes you feel like you are eating healthy.

The Dressing {and the BEST part}
1/2 of a Red Onion
1 1/2 Tb. Poppy Seeds
3/4 cup Vinegar
1 1/2 cup Oil
3/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
3/4 tsp. Dry Mustard

Put all ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.


Salad Mixin's
Lettuce
Baby Spinach
Strawberries (sliced)
Mushrooms (sliced)
Swiss Cheese (shredded)
Bacon (crumbled)
Almonds (sliced)

Toss all salad ingredients in large bowl. Serve with dressing on the side.

Another Summer Chicken Salad

I got a head of cabbage this weekend and I'm not a huge fan of cabbage.  I was not sure what to do with it until I remembered my mom's yummy chicken salad recipe.  So I tried making it and it looks pretty good (were going to eat it for dinner tonight).  Thought I'd share the recipe, it's great for summer!

Salad:

½ head of cabbage (green and purple if possible) chopped

2 cups boiled chicken, cubed

1 package raw Ramen Noodles broken up

2 green onions, chopped

¼ cup slivered almonds (optional)

2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

1 package Ramen seasoning, preferably chicken

1 Tbsp sugar

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup olive oil

2 ½ tsp vinegar (rice or white wine)

Combine salad mixture in large bowl.  Mix dressing in separate bowl then pour dressing mixture over salad and mix well.  Chill in refrigerator until cold and enjoy!

Chicken Under a Brick

I have pretty much been DYING to try this recipe ever since my sister gave it to me over four years ago (in a recipe binder on my wedding day... thus the slacker in my chef-ti-ness). I finally got the courage to debone a chicken yesterday, let it marinate over night and cooked it up today. It was sooooo good, I think I still have garlic on my breath, gross for you, good for me. I knew it was good because I had it over 6 years ago at my sister's house when I visited her in Pittsburgh... which is weird that the next time I had it, was in Pittsburgh, in my sister's old house... doo-do-doo-do *twilight zone music*. Anyway, I had to see if I could make it... and if I can make it... anyone can. Just don't melt your hand picking up a hot skillet from the oven like idea. I know, I'm brilliant!

Whole chickens are cheap, I think I got mine for around $3.50... in Pittsburgh, so it may even be cheaper some place else. Budget friendly, semi-healthy, yumm-o meal... that's the way uh-huh uh-huh, I LIKE it!!! Give it a try, and let me know if you do!

Stuffed and Satisfied,

Slacker Chef


1 Whole (3 to 4 pound) Chicken, trimmed of excess fat, then rinsed and patted dry
1 Tb. minced fresh Rosemary, plus 2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
2 tsps. Salt
1 Tb. coarsely chopped Garlic
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 Lemon, quartered

NOTE: It is best to plan ahead for this dish, so you'll have time to let it marinate.

Remove the chicken's backbone and split the chicken (you can find a lot of tutorials on line, I used THIS). Mix together minced rosemary, salt, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and then rub all over the chicken. Tuck some of it under the skin, too. Allow to marinate, if time permits, for up to a day in the fridge.

When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 450º. Preheat and ovenproof skillet over medium high heat on the stovetop. Press the rosemary sprigs into the skin of the chicken. Put the remaining olive oil into the skillet and wait a minute for it to heat up. Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down, along with any pieces of rosemary and garlic. Weight the chicken with another skillet or a flat pot lid and a couple of bricks or rocks. The basic idea is to flatten the chicken.

Cook for 10 minutes on the stove top, then transfer, still weighted, to the oven. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes more. Take the chicken from the oven and remove the weight; turn the chicken over (skin side up) and roast 10 minutes more, or until done. Serve hot at room temperature, with lemon wedges.


***Pictures to come... not that they are spectacular... still waiting for my dream camera, *sigh*

Rosemary Chicken Thighs

I was purchasing chicken thighs for a yummy Slow Cooker Chicken Curry recipe (I'll post soon... its good), and was supposed to get boneless, skinless thighs... I knew this, so how did I end up putting a bag of frozen chicken thighs that were still connected to their skins and bones... I don't know. Must have been on sale.

Here is my creation. A spin off of Chicken Under a Brick (a recipe I'll share once I try making it myself).

Chicken Thighs
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (what makes is extra?)
Garlic Powder
Rosemary
Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper

Place frozen chicken thighs on a baking sheet. Drizzle each thigh with extra virgin olive oil. Season with garlic powder, dried rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour lemon juice over each thigh (try not to take off the seasonings). Bake in oven for one hour at 350º or until chicken is cooked through.

It was really yummy, if I do say so myself. The only bad thing is that most of the flavor was in the skin... which kind of makes it unhealthy when you are forced to consume the skin to get all of the yummy flavoring. *sigh*

Lemon Pepper Tilapia

This is as close as I could come to healthy... it probably isn't because of the butter... and it really isn't a recipe, as much as it is a very complimentary meal. But it is as close as I get to healthy... AND it is a fast and easy meal, the rice is the longest part, so sometimes I just nix it and add another veggie... thats healthy right? But I don't usually, because the rice is soooooo goooooood!

Put 1/2 stick of butter into a 9x13 pan and melt in oven (which is heated to 350)
          I have made it before by using just water with a little lemon juice in it... it isn't as good, but it is friendlier to the love handles!
Place fish fillets in pan of melted butter and coat.

(I buy mine from Sam's Club in a big bag where they are all individually packaged... they are a pain to pull apart when they are all frozen together... this way just seams easiest to me... not the most eco-friendly though... sorry enviroment!)

Sprinkle with Salt and Lemon Pepper (you can't go wrong, but make sure you put quite a bit on... its good stuff!)
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until fish flake with a fork.

Serve with steamed broccoli (I just buy the Frozen broccoli florets... we have bad luck with fresh broccoli going bad, and the frozen kind tastes just as good to us)

and Rice a Roni (use this kind... it is the BEST, and it's brown rice... so um, healthy right?)

***I can't take all the credit for this yummy meal combo... My wonderful SIL Em showed it to me. She always has ears of corn and crescent rolls with it too... very good. ***

Haystacks

I'm not sure how healthy this is but I feel healthy when I am eating it because of all the veggies... does that count?

Rice (as much as you need depending on your family size)
1 pkg. Chicken- cubed
Lemon Pepper
1 Green Pepper- diced
1 Tomato- diced
Green Onion- chopped
Chow Mein Noodles
Pineapple Tid-bits
Olives

Celery, chopped

Gravy:
1 can Chicken Broth
2 cans Cream of Chicken

Cook rice. Cook chicken and season with anything you want, I use Lemon Pepper. Mix the gravy together and heat. It makes a LOT of sauce. I usually just freeze 1/2 can of the broth (dumped into a freezer bag) to be used at another time so that makes it easier to 1/2 the recipe.

Add any of these toppings, and any others that you can think of... this recipe and picture are from my sister's recipe blog but we usually add more veggies-- broccoli, carrots, cucumber etc... And I can't find the noodles here in Canada so we don't even put those on there.