Friday, December 3, 2010

Almond-Crusted Chicken

Almond-Crusted Chicken

Earlier this week I was running out of food in my fridge. Our Thanksgiving Day was actually celebrated on Saturday, so I didn't have much time to get my normal grocery shopping done over the weekend.

Almond-Crusted Chicken is a great option when the pantry is beginning to look a little bare. It takes only a handful of ingredients and bakes up quickly.

If you don't have almonds you could use just about any toasted nuts. It's flexible like that. The original recipe actually calls for pecans, but I had almonds on hand. Dijon mustard helps keep the coating in place, but using beaten eggs or egg whites would probably also work.

It didn't get as crispy and toasted as I would've liked. To make it crispier, try putting a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.

Despite a lack a crispiness, it was still pretty tasty! Steamed frozen green beans and whipped sweet potatoes rounded out my meal.


Almond-Crusted Chicken

Adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray

1 cup toasted almonds, pulsed with a food processor into fine crumbs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp basil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Mix together the almond crumbs, breadcrumbs and basil in a shallow bowl.

Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken, rub with the Dijon mustard (a silicone pastry brush works wells for this), then coat with crumb mixture.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a cooling rack coated in cooking spray over a baking sheet for crispier chicken.

Coat the top of the chicken with olive oil cooking spray and bake 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

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