Monday, April 14, 2008

Buffalo Chicken Strips



I've been looking forward to making these for a loooooong time! I first saw this brilliant twist on boneless buffalo goodness on Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations last year. I am still dying to try the blue cheese orzo she made as a side dish, because it sounds INCREDIBLE!!! As mentioned in previous posts and in everyday conversation when ever I get a chance to work it in there, I LOVE BUFFALO WINGS!!!! Seriously. I think I could be in a wing-eating contest and seriously put some LARGE MEN to shame. Nate and I have been working on keeping our weeknight eating on the healthy tip as much as possible, and I was thrilled when I got home from the gym last week and realized I had all the ingredients to make this SUPER EASY, and mucho delicious dinner, full of buffalo-y-goodness!!!

Baked Buffalo Chicken Strips
Adapted from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations (see link above)
Measurements are approximate

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 c bread crumbs
2-3 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
pinch of Kosher Salt
Black pepper to taste
1 bottle FRANK'S RED HOT Hot sauce

Place the chicken strips in a large freezer bag and cover liberally with hot sauce.
Marinate in the refrigerator 1-4 hours. In a medium bowl mix the bread crumbs, cayenne, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Pre-heat oven to 425.
Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Using a fork, remove the strips from the hot sauce one at a time and coat with the bread crumb and spice mix. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes flipping half way through. I didn't have enough hot sauce left to coat the strips after baking, but I drizzled a bit over them. I love dunking my wings in blue cheese or ranch dressing, but that kind of kills the purpose of making a healthier version of these buffalo goodies. So, I like to use 1/2-3/4 c. of either non-fat plain yogurt or non-fat sour cream (which ever is on hand) and mix in 1-2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese, a pinch of salt, a little black pepper, and a dash of the Franks red-hot sauce This makes a slightly "lighter" dipping sauce :)

1 comment:

Amanda said...

Thanks for this! Sounds awesome!