Pecan Crusted Chicken

Pecans are plentiful in Florida. In fact, the land my grandparents lived on used to be a pecan grove. I remember picking up bushels of pecans when I was a child and we would spend the whole day shelling them. By the end of the day our hands would be black. I recall the day I was strong enough to crack two of them by squeezing them together in one hand. I was so proud of myself. I remember the bitter taste of the little paper hull inside.  I remember pecan pies! Pecans always make me think of home.


Servings: 4-6
Time: Prep: 10 minutes Cooking: 20 minutes
Hardware: A cutting board and knife, measuring spoons and cups, a food chopper, 2-1 gallon plastic zip bags, a baking sheet

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 egg
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup corn starch
• ½ cup of all purpose flour
• 2 cups pecan pieces
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Rinse the chicken in clean water and pat dry. Cut into serving size pieces for dinner or bite size pieces for appetizers.
2. Grind the pecans into fine crumbs.
3. Put the egg, water, and corn starch in a plastic Ziploc bag. Massage the bag until completely mixed. It may foam up, that is okay.
4. Combine all the other ingredients except the chicken in the other plastic bag. Shake this like crazy to mix.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 400°.
6. Place each piece of chicken into the egg mixture and toss to coat.
7. Then place each piece of chicken into the flour mixture and toss to coat.
8. Place the chicken in a single layer on the baking sheet.
9. Allow the chicken to bake for 20 minutes for dinner pieces or 15 minutes for appetizers.

Serve warm.

This can be made through step 7, placed in a single layer on a plate, wrapped in plastic, and stuck in the fridge up to 3 hours early. Take them out 30 minutes ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven when guests arrive.

  

If serving this as an appetizer, stick each piece with a toothpick and offer honey mustard dressing for dipping. You can also serve this over my Pear and Feta Salad.