Healthy Easy Crispy Chicken.

Now that you've eaten your weight in crescent rolls, let's go for something a little lighter.

You can give your kids chicken fingers without feeling guilty about giving them "junk" food.  This is an easy, low-fat, yummy recipe.

Panko are Japanese bread crumbs, and they stay crunchy during cooking, unlike traditional bread crumbs, that get soggy from the moisture of whatever you're cooking.  I love what they do to chicken; it makes it so much more fun to eat.  The natural moisture of the chicken will make the crumbs adhere, so you don't need any milk bath / egg yolk step in there to make the crumbs stick, making this dish that much healthier for you.

Just season the chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in the panko, and bake, 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.  If your crumbs start to burn before the chicken is cooked through, try covering it with foil.  You can tell if they're done by giving them a little touch with your finger.  If it feels like the tip of your nose, it's done.  If it feels like the hollow of your cheek, it's not done.  I like to put the chicken on a wire rack sprayed with Pam or something similar, the rack sitting on top of a baking sheet.  This way the crumbs on the bottom stay crispy too.  Perfect chicken fingers everytime.  The first recipe I made with this technique is here..  (Read this lady's blog.  It is amazing.)  This Margarita Chicken recipe is for tacos, but I serve them on their own with the Strawberry Salsa on the side and they are incredible.

I don't always have limes on hand for her marinade.  I do always have tequila on hand for her marinade.  But tonight I wanted to try something a little more simple.

You can serve this with whole grain pasta, tomato sauce with extra veggies, and a side of asparagus like I did.

You can serve this with Honey Mustard

(seriously just honey and mustard.  not hard.) and Sweet Potato fries to make your kids feel like they are really eating chicken fingers and fries.    The great thing about this crispy chicken is that it will really go with just about anything.  You can cut into nuggets or leave the cutlets whole to save on prep time.  You can make it as healthy or as fattening as you like :)  In my version, the only fat is whatever is in the jarred sauce, and some olive oil for sauteeing the asparagus.  I don't want to know how much fat is in those crescent rolls we ate last night :)

I couldn't even get a picture of the finished plate, we devoured it so fast.  Go get some panko to keep in your pantry and you will have everything you need.