Crunchy chicken strips with a spicy banana sauce

Today was my rest day. I got to sleep in a bit, have a slow morning and all together start the week off nice and rested. I ate my crepes that I posted about earlier for lunch, which was super fantastic. I love the fact that they take only about 10 minutes to cook up and is super filling. But for dinner I decided to make some dinner for Austin and I. He loves chicken fingers, the kind that comes fried in a basket with a side of honey mustard. Although I know he wants to start eating alot better. So i decided to make some crispy baked chicken strips with a spicy banana "ketchup". This was based off of a recipe I found off of Eating well.

Crispy Baked Chicken Strips with Banana "Ketchup"

Chicken:
1 Chicken Breast
1 egg
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. panko
1 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. pepper
pinch of salt

Banana Ketchup:
1/2 banana
1/4 c. onion
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. all spice
1/4 c. apple cider Vinegar
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. chili flakes
1/4 c. water
splash of evoo

For the chicken, cut into strips and rinse clean. Put egg into one bowl, flour into another bowl and panko with seasonings into a third bowl. This works best with a shallow bowl or plate. Dip chicken into flour first, then egg wash and lastly into panko mix. Place chicken strips onto a greased baking pan and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or so. (Depends on how thick you cut your chicken)

For the ketchup dice onion and add to sautee pan with olive oil, ginger and chili flakes. Cook until onion starts to soften. Add in all spice and cook for another minute. Add in mashed banana, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and water. Cook over low heat to reduce. About 10 minutes. Let cool, move to food processor and blend.

They came out super crunchy and moist on the inside. The sauce was really delicious. Just a perfect blend of banana with a bit of a kick. The vinegar helped to offset the sweetness in the banana. Really tasty! I thought that it went well with the crunchy chicken.

I wasnt overly hungry tonight unfortunently so I just took a few bites of the chicken that I made for Austin. For myself I made a great giant salad with carmelized onions and peppers. I threw together a quick dressing with balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic and a bit of coconut vinegar. I also love to throw fresh herbs into my salad. Tonight in some cilantro I had lying around. Delish!



And now Im off to bed. Tommorrow is spin which means early morning! Have a super night.