Spicey Boneless Buffalo Wings

Here is another heathier meal that I came across on eatingwell.com.  Adam and I are HUGE wing fans, so having the healthier alternative is GREAT!  We both really enjoyed them.

Even though boneless Buffalo wings are made with healthy white-meat chicken, they're usually deep-fried and drenched in hot sauce laced with butter. The solution: chicken tenders are dredged in seasoned whole-wheat flour and cornmeal, pan-fried in only a small amount of oil and then drizzled with a tangy hot pepper sauce. With a fraction of the fat, calories and sodium

Critique from another person who tried the wings and I couldn't agree more :)

"These were a tasty alternative to buffalo wings... but I think in the future I'd drizzle more sauce over them... that's usually my favorite part. I also had trouble with the breading sticking to the chicken and would cut back on flour in favor of my cornmeal the next time I make them as I know this works fine from other recipes I've made. They were a hit for Monday Night Football...even with the breading falling off!"

Ingredients

Spicy Blue Cheese Dip

• 2/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

Wings & Vegetables

• 3 tablespoons nonfat buttermilk, (see Tip)
• 3 tablespoons hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot, divided
• 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, divided
• 2 pounds chicken tenders, (see Ingredient Note)
• 6 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
• 6 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 2 cups carrot sticks
• 2 cups celery sticks

Preparation

1. To prepare dip: Whisk sour cream, blue cheese, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. To prepare wings: Whisk buttermilk, 2 tablespoons hot sauce and 2 tablespoons vinegar in a large bowl until combined. Add chicken; toss to coat. Transfer to the refrigerator and let marinate for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, whisk flour and cornmeal in a shallow dish. Whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon hot sauce and 1 tablespoon vinegar in a small bowl; set aside.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade and roll in the flour mixture until evenly coated. (Discard remaining marinade and flour mixture.) Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon cayenne.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken, placing each piece in a little oil. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and chicken, reducing the heat if necessary to prevent burning. Transfer to the platter. Drizzle the chicken with the reserved hot sauce mixture. Serve with carrots, celery and Spicy Blue Cheese Dip.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: The chicken can marinate (Step 1) for up to 1 hour.

• Tip: No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make “sour milk”: mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.
• Ingredient note: Chicken tenders, virtually fat-free, are a strip of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of the chicken breast, but they can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries, chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded “chicken fingers.”

Nutrition

Per serving: 256 calories; 10 g fat (4 g sat, 4 g mono);83 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrates; 31 g protein; 2 g fiber; 353 mg sodium; 248 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (120% daily value).
Carbohydrate Servings: 1
Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 1/2 lean meat
I am NOT a celery fan, so I replaced mine with cucmbers :)  I made a seperate, NON spicey batch with ranch for Mya and the leftovers made for a nice little lunch for her at school tomorrow! Please excuse my "fine china" lol

Cornmeal-Crusted Chicken Nuggets with Blackberry Mustard

I found this recipe on eatingwell.com and I just had to try it.  I have my own version of chicken nuggets that I made for Mya a while back and these looked too good to pass up.  Plus, I was intreged by the Blackberry Mustard.  Here is my opinion about the meal.  I really, really enjoyed it.  Adam liked it better than I did, however, he is a blackberry fan and I am not.  Blackberries are just too sour for me.  The recipe says that you can do it with raspberries and I think next time I'm going to do that and I know I will be absolutely in love.  For the first time ever making it I just wanted to follow the recipe exactly.  It's a different way to eat chicken nuggets and I will definitely be making it again :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh blackberries or raspberries, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 pound chicken tenders, cut in half crosswise (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

 

Preparation

1. Mash blackberries (or raspberries), mustard and honey in a small bowl until it looks like a chunky sauce.
2. Sprinkle chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Place cornmeal in a medium bowl, add the chicken and toss to coat (discard any leftover cornmeal).
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook the chicken, turning once or twice, until browned and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total (thinner nuggets will cook faster than thicker ones). Serve the chicken nuggets with the berry mustard.

Tips & Notes

• Chicken tenders are the lean strips of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of chicken breasts. They can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries, chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded “chicken nuggets.”

Nutrition

Per serving: 184 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono);67 mg cholesterol; 9 g carbohydrates; 3 g added sugars; 26 g protein; 2 g fiber; 452 mg sodium; 70 mg potassium.

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

Exchanges: 1 starch, 4 lean meat, 1 fat

Healthy Chicken Nuggets

1lb ground chicken
1 bag frozen broccoli/cauliflower
1 cup shredded cheese...
1 egg

Thaw frozen veggies and chop into small pieces. Mix with chicken meat, egg, and shredded cheese. Season with garlic and onion salt/powder (I used minced onions in mine). Mix well with hands and roll into a ball. Dip the ball in some milk and coat with crushed corn flakes. The ones I made for Mya, I coated with 1/2 corn flakes and 1/2 shake n bake for some flavor. Cook what you want right away and freeze what you don't

Unfrozen- bake at 425 for 12 min. Check and keep baking if needed               

Frozen- bake at 425 for 25 min

The frozen ones will bake crispy just like chicken nuggets. Mya gobbles hers up... With some ranch of course! Great kids meal and I have had 4 with a salad for dinner one night and loved them Enjoy!!!