"Fried" Panko Chicken Tenders

If you're like me you've seen lots of recipes that call for panko breadcrumbs and figured "What's the difference?" I would just use my regular breadcrumbs and never know the difference -- now I know the difference! The instructions in the original recipe said not to skip any steps in order to get a good crunchy coating so I figured I'd better give it a try.

The result was a delicious, crunchy coating with a moist chicken tender just right for dipping in the spicy Cajun-Creole sauce.

This recipe comes from the book Cooking Light - Fresh Food Fast.

"Fried" Panko Chicken Tenders

1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tender (about 12 tenders)

Cooking spray

Cajun-Creole Dipping Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine panko, pepper, and salt in a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk into another shallow dish.
3. Dip chicken in buttermilk; dredge in panko mixture, pressing firmly to coat. Shake off excess panko mixture. Place chicken on a wire rack; let stand 10 minutes. While chicken stands, place a jelly-roll pan in oven to heat.
4. Coat chicken well with cooking spray. Remove hot pan from oven; coat with cooking spray. Arrange chicken in a single layer on pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 23 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned. Serve with Cajun-Creole dipping Sauce. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3 chicken tenders and 2 tablespoons dipping sauce).

Nutrition info: calories 310; fat 3g; protein 44g; carbohydrates 23.8g; fiber 0.8g; chol 99mg; iron 1.3mg; sodium 666mg; calcium 76mg

Cajun-Creole Dipping Sauce

6 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt-free Cajun-Creole seasoning

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/16 teaspoon salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until blended. Yield: 1/2 cup (serving size:; 2 tablespoons)

Nutrition Info: calories 23; fat 0g; protein 0g; carb 6.1g; fiber 0g; chol 0mg; iron 0mg; sodium 374mg; calcium 1mg

My Notes:

1. I didn't have any buttermilk on hand, so I made my own. Just take 1 cup of nonfat milk and add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice, then let sit for 5 minutes.
2. I also didn't have any chicken "tenders", so I just sliced some chicken breasts into strips.
3. Since this was meal was for my daughter's birthday, we had corn-on-the-cob and green salad as side dishes -- her favs!

Positive thought for the day: "Don’t cry because it is over. Smile because it happened." –Dr. Seuss