Dinner In for 2

When we are not out on the town, eating our way through Atlanta, we stay in and cook delicious meals with the hopes of them turning out on the gourmet side. We stay in and cook to keep our wallets fat and our pants skinny (ier). On this particular Sunday, Sam and I decided to go to Mass (per our usual routine) and then stop in at at the grocery store to pick up a few items and then to head home to play our first tennis game against each other. After we built up our appetites and Sam kicked my butt a zillion to zero, we headed inside to begin another night in the kitchen.

 This blog will also be dedicated to sharing our love for food with you through restaurants and through our own kitchen.  Some recipes will be exact and taken from websites while others will be not-so-scientific and somewhat made up, yet totally delish.  Now, to began this healthy culinary adventure from our kitchen to yours:

Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Instead of batter-dipped, deep-fried nuggets, we coat chicken tenders in a seasoned almond and whole-wheat flour crust and then oven-fry them to perfection. With half the fat of standard breaded chicken tenders, you can enjoy to your (healthy) heart's content.

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Makes 4 servings

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

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

Preparation

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.

Taken from http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/almond_crusted_chicken_fingers.html



We served this little amazeballs dish with steamed broccoli that was drizzled in a divine Strawberry Vinnegartte dressing.  Sam made open faced cheesy garlic bread on left-over sandwich buns.  This would also be good to serve with green beans or squash casserole.

Cheers to healthy cooking!
Enjoy!