in the kitchen: chip-crusted chicken

Um, no I didn't die.  Let's just say I was in a funk last week, and really didn't do anything that creative.  :o)

To ease me back into posting, here's a really simple, really yummy chicken recipe.  Because chicken is good for you, but can get boring real quick if you're not careful.  This recipe is enough for two people but can easily be doubled...just figure a chicken breast and maybe a half cup more of chips per person.

The Ingredients.
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1 to 1 1/2 cups crushed baked potato chips (barbecue flavor is fantastic, but use whatever you have on hand!)

The Method.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.
Place chicken breasts in a ziploc bag and pound them until they are half an inch thick.  Take them out of the bag and cut them against the grain into 1 inch strips.  Set aside.
Put crushed chips in a shallow container (such as a pie plate).  {To crush the chips, put them in a ziploc bag and roll a rolling pin back and forth until they look like breadcrumbs.}  In another container, lightly beat the egg.
Dip each chicken strip in the egg, let the excess drip off, and then roll in the crushed chips until all edges are covered.  Lay on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is done.

As you can see, the chicken doesn't take that long at all to bake since it's in small strips and the oven temperature is high.  And while you can experiment with the flavor of chips (sour cream and onion might be good too!), I would recommend that you stick to the baked variety.  I tried regular chips one time, and they made the chicken kind of greasy.  I could hear the fat on the them sizzling in the oven, and it just didn't result in the crispy texture that the baked chips do.  One thing I might try next time is to place a wire rack on top of the baking sheet and then bake the chicken strips that way; maybe that will prevent soggy-bottomed chicken.  Which happens a little bit with this recipe, but doesn't really affect the taste of the chicken overall.  Which is good, because it's yummy if I do say so myself.  :o)

Enjoy!