Christine and the Big Scary Kitchen

Before we go on, I just have one thing to say.  I am writing you this outside.  I’m on our rusty patio furniture, outside and happy as a clam in shorts and short sleeves.  Judge me for being mean all you want.

While you’re judging me for being mean, you might as well know that I also love chicken nuggets.  Though I appreciate the beauty and taste of fried chicken, in reality, I would more often go for breaded chicken nuggets or patties, you know all the parts that naturally appear on a chicken.  Sometimes I am so stuck in little kid mode, I can’t help but desire those little circles of goodness.  The weird thing is, I’m not that into the fried stuff.  Shove it in the oven and after twenty minutes or so, I am happily chomping.

Since I’m grown up now, I now know that those little nuggets are no good for me, but I didn’t want to leave it completely behind.  Here’s my take on chicken nuggets, grown up and in a healthy, delicious sammich!

Cashew-Crusted Chicken Pita
(serves four | about twenty minutes prep and twenty minutes cooking time)

Cashew-Crusted Chicken

two chicken breast halves (I did mine in nuggets, but was much more time consuming)
1/2c flour
two large eggs
3/4c of roasted, unsalted cashews
1/2c of panko bread crumbs
1t of salt
1t of pepper
1 t of garlic powder
cooking spray
four  pocketless pita/flatbread
1/2c of tahini hummus
olive oil
handful of spinach and cherry tomatoes per person

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and coat a 9 x 13 baking pan thoroughly with baking spray.

First, grind 1/2c of cashews very finely in a small food processor.  Add panko and grind for 15-30 seconds.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of cashews and pulse for 15 seconds (this will get a great cashew texture.)

Cut chicken breasts in half so there are four strips all together.  In a shallow dish (like tupperware), combine flour, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Mix well.    In a second shallow dish, crack two eggs and beat well.  In a third shallow dish (or a large freezer bag), dump the cashew/panko mix.

One by one, dip a strip (rhyme!) in the flour until well coated, then egg, then roll in the cashew/panko mix (if you choose to use the freezer bag, reserve all the strip to shake in the freezer bag at the end) then set in the baking pan.  Once all strips are well coated, place in the oven for ten minutes, spray with cooking spray then flip and bake for another ten minutes.

About three minutes before the chicken is done, stick the four pieces of flatbread in the oven to warm up.  Remove from oven, slather a layer of hummus, then the spinach and cherry tomatoes, add the chicken and drizzle a little olive oil with a pinch or two of salt and pepper.

EAT!