Pretzel and Peanut Crusted Chicken Strips

Hello All!

It's that time...time for another great recipe.  And if you don't know already, I love FOOD!  As mentioned in an earlier post I've been surrounded by women that love to cook, and they do it very well.  So when I come across great recipes I can't wait to share them.  Today's recipe I found back in March while watching the Rachael Ray Show.  It looked so good and perfectly cooked on TV, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  The end result was very yummy, and much prettier than I expected my non-professional version to be.  Without further ado, here is what you need to do...

Ingredients

1 bag salted pretzels, any shape
1/2 cup coarsely chopped honey-roasted peanuts
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
16 chicken tenders or 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips half an inch thick
1/4 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil (eyeball it)
Honey mustard or barbeque sauce, for drizzling

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place pretzels and peanuts in a food processor or blender and grind until fine. Transfer to a shallow dish, add thyme, season with salt and pepper, and mix well.  I'd recommend using a rectangle or square shallow dish, just so the strips lay better.

A little blurry, but these are the 2 dishes I used.  And the pink gloves as  protection from the chicken.

Beat 2 eggs in a second shallow dish with a splash of water.

Coat the chicken in the ground pretzels and peanuts, then the egg, then the pretzels again.

Preheat a large skillet with EVOO, enough to go 1/4 inch up the sides of the skillet, over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces to the hot oil. Cook in a single layer, in two batches if necessary, about 3-4 minutes on each side, until juices run clear and the breading is evenly browned. Transfer finished chicken strips to the oven to keep warm as you cook remaining strips.

Ok, so they are not all pretty.  But a majority of them were.

Serve topped with a drizzle of honey mustard or barbecue sauce.

Mine

Rachael's

Substitutions

For this recipe we did not add the nuts, and used about 1 teaspoon of  dried thyme instead of fresh.

If you're like me, you agree that EVOO is expensive!  So when adding oil just eyeball it, start by just covering the bottom of the pan, and add more later if needed.

They really are very tasty, and can be served with pretty much any side dish.  Maybe some fries, a nice salad, or a simple veggie.  What is your weeknight routine?  Are there any favs that you like to have every week?  Let me know, I love comments!

Photo & recipe credit

Until next time...

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

Now that I am on Pinterest I decided to join The Vintage Apple's "Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesdays."  It is a great link up where bloggers can go to show off all the great finds they found during the week.  If you don't have Pinterest, I hope you join.  I've found so many awesome things that have given me so much inspiration.  Although, it is invite only; so if you'd like an invite let me know in the comment section.
I know this is a late post but it is technically still Wednesday for me for about another hour.  For my first week, I thought I'd stick with the theme from my previous post, Scrabble!

Scrabble Love

Lovely Pillows

Cookies!!!

Anyone need a coaster?

Cake, Cupcakes, and Cookies!

Table Numbers

That is all for this week.  Never thought I would see so many different uses for Scrabble letters.  I love it, I hope you do too!  If you are part of the Pinterest craze, you might want to go link up at The Vintage Apple as well.

Until next time...

DIY Scrabble Tiles

Hi All!

Lately it seems that tons of people are becoming addicted to using scrabble tiles for other uses than just the board game.  For all of the Pinterest addicts, if you do a search for scrabble you'll come up with many different results from Scrabble nails to Scrabble pillows.  If any of you have smart phones that allow you to purchase apps, I'm sure you have heard of "Words With Friends."  Basically it's another form of Scrabble.  My mother recently got an iPhone and she is addicted to it and even I have to admit that I find myself playing it more than I should.  So to go along with this scrabble craze I made a simple DIY Scrabble tile project.  Once you're done you'll have tiles that you can use for numerous projects.

To get started you'll need some kraft or tan colored cardstock paper (I used a 12 x 12 inch sheet, but 8.5 x 11 inch works fine), a paper cutter or ruler and scissors, and a thin sharpie or pen.

Step 1

Take your paper and cut off 1 inch strips, and then cut those strips into 1 inch squares.  Keep cutting until you have enough squares to make at least 2 of each letter.  Cut extra squares if you'd like more of each letter.

Step 2

Now it is time to begin labeling the squares with letters and their values.  I used a thin sharpie so that the letters would not be too thick, but I did go over each letter a second time to make it slightly thicker.  The letter values are as follows:

1 point - A, E, I, L, N, O, R, S, T, and U
2 points - D and G
3 points - B, C, M, and P
4 points - F, H, V, W, and Y
5 points - K
8 points - J and X
10 points - Q and Z

Once you reach Z, you're done!  Now you have Scrabble tiles that you can use however you like.  Try using them in a scrap booking project or attach a magnet strip to the back and place some words on your fridge.

What do you think?  Are you loving the different ways people are using the Scrabble theme?  Let me know, I love comments!

Until next time...