Chicken Nuggets/Strips

I had a difficult time taking a picture of these chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes.  I only have white plates.  They taste much better than the picture makes them look.  You should make them and find out for yourself.  If you want to eat these with mashed potatoes, find your own recipe.  Mine were kind of dry.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups panko or regular bread crumbs

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast tenders

Cooking Spray

Method

1.  Preheat Oven to 450 F

2.  Combine panko (or bread crumbs), pepper, and salt in a shallow dish.  Pour buttermilk into another shallow dish.

3.  If you want nuggets, cut the tenders into nugget size pieces.  If you want strips, you're ready to go.

Dip chicken in buttermilk, dredge in dry mixture, then place on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  While the chicken stands, place a glass jelly roll pan in the oven to heat.

4.  Coat chicken with cooking spray.  Arrange chicken in a single layer on the pan.  Bake at 450 for 23 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve with your choice of dipping sauce.  If you are my sister, serve with ketchup.

Enjoy.

Cashew Chicken

I've tried a few different cashew chicken recipes and this is my favorite.  The chili powder gives the chicken a little kick, but the honey keeps it sweet.  This recipe will feed 2 people for 2 or 3 days.  I'll probably cut the recipe in half the next time I make it.  This will feed about 4 people.

Remember to have all your ingredients prepared before you start cooking.  I used a wok, but a large skillet will work as well.

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked brown rice

4 chicken breasts (about 1 to 1.25 lbs), skinless and boneless, cut into 1 inch cubes

Peanut or Olive Oil

3 Tbs chili powder

1/2 cup Tamari (you can use soy sauce as a substitute)

1/2 cup honey

2 cups raw cashews

3 cups chopped onions

3 cups chopped mushrooms

Procedure

Prepare rice as directed on package

Marinate the chicken

Place the chicken cubes in a large bowl.  Cover the chicken with oil.  Add tamari.  Sprinkle chili powder into bowl.  Stir well.  You should be able to see chili powder on each piece of chicken.  Add honey.  Marinate for half an hour to several hours.

Put cashews into a saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple minutes until they are soft.  Strain and set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, saute chicken on medium high heat until cooked.  Save any extra marinade that does fall into the wok.  Remove chicken and set aside.

In the same wok, saute the onions on medium high to high heat with the reserve marinade for several minutes.  Add mushrooms and continue to saute until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are cooked.

Add chicken and cashews to wok.  Serve over brown rice.