Quick Fried Chicken Strips

Sometimes when you see a recipe you just know it’s going to be fabulous.  Fried chicken that’s first dipped in Buttermilk, then bread crumbs caught my eye in a recipe from Food Network.  I put it on my menu for last week and I made it on a night when my husband came home very tired and weary from an extremely busy afternoon. When he came in the door, the lights were dimmed, the candles were flickering, soft music was playing and dinner was on the table.  It was my way of saying, “I care about you enough to help you rest when you come home.”  It is my attempt to be a “good thing” to my hard-working husband.  

As I imagined, he was starving. Within minutes of his arrival home, we were praying and then digging in!  I LOOOOVE it when he takes the first bite and says, “MmmMmmm!”  He also added, “That’s a winner!”  Yay!  I had about five strips leftover (hard to believe, because I just used one chicken breast!), so the next day I warmed them in the oven and cut them into pieces and added them to a salad for each of us.  Yummy!  

The Food Network issued this recipe as a lunch for your child’s lunchbox.  They cut the chicken into nuggets.  This would totally make any child’s lunch the best in the school!    If you like fried chicken, you need to make this super fast recipe with chicken strips!

Panko Fried Chicken Strips

1 large egg
1/3 cup buttermilk – Shake up the buttermilk before pouring!
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs – I was out of Panko crumbs, but the regular bread crumbs still made a nice crust!
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
Ranch, honey mustard or barbecue sauce for dipping, optional

Directions
Whisk the egg and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Soak chicken pieces in egg mixture while you gather remaining ingredients. Meanwhile, in another shallow bowl combine panko with paprika, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste. Set a rack on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Lift chicken from buttermilk, letting excess liquid drain back into the bowl, then dip into panko and turn to coat on all sides.

Carefully place chicken in oil and cook until they are golden and crispy and cooked through, about for 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to the rack to cool. Place in sealed container. Pack in a lunch box with their favorite veggies and ranch, honey mustard or barbecue sauce for dipping.

As I said earlier, this would make a great recipe for dinner, but it also makes great leftovers for lunch! 

Sooo, tell me, what have you done this week to be a good thing to your husband?

With love from my country kitchen,