Woo! It’s the first day of the NFL regular season! I’m a football fanatic. College … professional … you name it … I love it. I love the food that goes along with it even better though … obviously. I really wanted to celebrate the start of the regular season by making something I crave during every single football game. I’m not a crazy chicken tenders/fingers/nuggets kind of girl, but I DO love them during a football game. I’m not sure why, but let’s just go with it. I lightened up a fan favorite by baking them and covering them in cashews. These chicken tenders … were … amazing.
I apologize for being a total debbie downer yesterday. I feel much better today. Thank you so much for asking! I think it’s because I’ve had a couple of recipe wins the past couple of days, and I definitely think I’m on the up and up.
It was also much cooler today and felt very fall-like.
This makes me happy.
Cashews. What to say about cashews? I absolutely adore them. I actually love them so much, that I end up eating too many in one sitting and then I have a terrible belly ache. I “learn” my lesson, and then they next time I have a bowl of cashews, I eat the entire thing anyway. It’s a fault I’m willing to live with.
I decided to crust my chicken with cashews just because I can and because it’s amazing. To the cashews, I added the traditional bread crumb, parmesan cheese (yay!), and a bunch of spices. The flavor was miraculous.
The real winner of this recipe is the spicy ketchup though. Who knew that throwing sriracha into a bowl of ketchup would make it taste SOOO much better. I’m not a ketchup crazy person, so I was super excited to find a twist on it that I enjoyed. To the sauce, I also added garlic salt and chili powder. Can I get a yum?
What is the first day of the regular football season without a delicious beer pairing!?
Beer: Bayern Brewery’s Dragon’s Breath
Brewery: Bayern Brewery
Style: Dunkelweizen
Alcohol Content: 6.0%
Description: Bayern Brewery is a hidden gem in Montana, and on a recent trip up North, we picked up a couple of beers. Dragon’s Breath was in that batch, and I’m so glad that we didn’t pass it up. I don’t usually go for Dunkelweizens. It is a dark hefeweizen and it’s not normally a style of beer I gravitate towards. I am so happy I gave this beer a shot though. It is so delicious. Lightly hopped with some malty notes, this beer goes down easily. It has so much flavor and yet is not overpowering in any way. I really wanted something like a hefeweizen for this beer pairing, and I thought that this dark hefeweizen would be perfect for the job. It totally was. The two complimented each other perfectly. Now, if only I could get more of it down here in Colorado!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! See you all on Sunday!
Parmesan and Cashew Crusted Baked Chicken Tenders with Spicy Ketchup
Servings:
4Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch strips
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup cashews finely chopped
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup sriracha
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and place a wire rack on a large baking sheet. Spray it with a non-stick spray and set aside.
- Place the flour in a shallow bowl and set aside.
- Place the 2 eggs in another shallow bowl and beat. Set aside.
- Place both bread crumbs, cashews, parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and black pepper in another shallow bowl. Toss the ingredients together to combine and set aside.
- Season the chicken with salt and black pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour, making sure to evenly coat it. Transfer it to the egg mixture and then transfer to the bread crumbs mixture, making sure to evenly coat. Press the crumbs in where you need to. Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet.
- Once you have coated all of your chicken and place it on the baking sheet, lightly spray it with a non-stick spray. Place it in the oven and bake for 10-11 minutes on each side. When you flip the chicken, spray again with a non-stick spray.
- While your chicken is baking, prepare your spicy ketchup. In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, sriracha, chili powder and garlic salt until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- Serve the chicken tenders with the spicy ketchup and eat immediately! Enjoy!
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2 Responses
Aw, thank you so much, Katie! I’m loving this idea of adding the zest of some citrus into the mix! Good call!
Oooh, love the cashews in the coating, and there ain’t nuttin’ wrong with spicy ketchup!