Baked Buffalo Chicken Strips & Salad

I love Buffalo Chicken Strips! On top of a salad with Bleu Cheese, it rivals Nachos as being my favorite thing that I usually deny myself. So I was excited when I found a recipe for non-fried buffalo chicken.

I anticipated they would be good; I did not expect them to amazing. Or for Sage to say it was the best salad he'd ever had. Let's just say he is not the type to get excited over a salad. Seriously, they were so much better than any buffalo chicken I've ever ordered from anywhere. The chicken still isn't exactly healthy, but way better for you than fried. You could make these with regular breadcrumbs, but it is the Panko (Japanese) ones that makes them so good and crispy!

This recipe is from the awesome blog A Year In The Kitchen

1.5 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders (we used 2 large breasts, cut up)
1 cups flour
1 cup wing sauce (recommended Frank's Red Hot)
2 cups Panko bread crumbs (found in the Asian food area)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Lay out 3 plates or bowls, put flour in one, hot sauce in another, and bread crumbs in another. Season flour with salt and pepper. Take chicken tenders and dip them in flour, tap excess off, dip in hot sauce, then coat in bread crumbs.

3. Lay on a cookie sheet until all tenders are coated. Bake for 20 minutes.

Sage made the chicken, and I placed the the strips on a salad of romaine, peeled diced cucumber, julienned carrots, celery chunks, tomato wedges, and shredded cheese, drizzled with lite ranch and bleu cheese dressings. They are also great by themselves, and would be great as party finger food with dipping sauce!