Low Carb (virtually no carb) Chicken Fingers!

Let me tell you guys something.....But it's a secret ok?

Ready?

While I LOVE what my diet has done for my figure....

I MISS CARBY FOOD!

There, I said it.

So,  when the craving hits, I have no choice but to figure out a way to make whatever I am craving a Low-Carb craving!

Enter Chicken Fingers....what is it about chicken fingers that makes them so darn delicious?  I have no clue!  If you ever figure it out, please clue me in!

So here it is, Low Carb Chicken Fingers!


Start by cutting up your chicken into long strips, and seasoning them well.  This time I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, and rosemary.  But it changes depending on my mood!

Next, scramble an egg in a bowl, add a touch of water to thin down the egg just a touch.  A tablespoon or so should be about right.  Now, just dump your strips in!

Now...Here comes the low carb alternative!  Rather than breadcrumbs, I use nuts as my crust.  This time I used Almonds and Pecans.  Most of the time I add ground Flax Seeds to the mix, but forgot!  I just grind up the nuts in a coffee grinder until they are bread crumb consistency.  (Note:  if you wanna avoid coffee flavor nuts, simply stuff a slice of bread into your grinder and grind away, shaking the whole time.  The bread sweeps out the grinder and leaves it pretty much clean and ready to go!)  Once you have your breading mixture ready, dump a bit on a plate, keep the rest separate, this way, any leftovers can be put in a ziploc baggie and stored in the freezer til your next craving!  Throw your strips on the plate and coat them well!

Now (yes I forgot to take a pic!) gently place them in a pan with a bit of butter, to cook.  You want to really watch these.  You need to find a medium to medium-high heat level.  Too low and they will get soggy and the breading will fall off, too high and your coating will burn FAR sooner than your chicken is done.  Just watch it and if it's getting too brown, lower the heat, and pull it off the burner for a few seconds to let it cool down a bit.  Now here's the secret.  Turn them GENTLY!  and avoid messing with them too much.  The more you mess with them the more likely the breading will fall off.

YUM!!!

Rob had BBQ chicken on the grill, so I sliced up a yellow squash, rubbed it with a bit of Olive Oil, sprinkled it will salt and pepper and garlic powder and grilled it up.  Very tasty!

But...somethings missing....what's chicken fingers without the dipping sauce!

I have two favorites.  A curry dipping sauce my mom got me hooked on when i was little (it's GREAT with pork chops)  which is simply Curry powder in mayo.  it's mighty good!

the other I had with these:

Mix mayo and Sriracha (I use a ton cause I like it HOT) and YUM!  spicy, creamy, garlicy deliciousness!
I get my Sriracha at Walmart, so I bet you can find it there too!

Hope you guys enjoy my low carb chicken fingers!

{{{HUGS}}}
Christy

Christy is M.I.A!

Hey guys!

Remember me?  Yeah, me...the one who's supposed to be posting and hasn't in forever?

I'm Sorry!  Do you forgive me?

I just wanted to drop in and leave a little note about what to expect of me in the coming weeks.

See, I cook all my breakfasts and lunches for the work week in one massive batch on the weekends.  I find this is not only a huge time saver, but it ensures I am meeting my dietary needs.  It also keeps me from running through a drive-thru and consuming WAY too many calories!  Some weeks I do more extravagant things like curries or soups, others it's super simply stuff like a greek salad or egg salad.  So, I will being showing you fun, low carb options for lunches and how I make mine in bulk, as well as a segment I think I'll call "quick lunch", which will be less involved and just showcase how I might take a "normal" lunch and turn it low carb friendly.

I apologize for my absence again and hope you forgive me!

I also hope Brooke and Helen forgive me too!

Luv ya guys!

Christy

JASMINE RICE W/ BACON & VEGETABLES

People - this is sooooo good. I think I say that about everything I have posted so far, but it's true! What's even better is that this is so easy to make and so easy to adapt to what you have on hand. There is no "real" recipe since it can be changed to match your own personal likes. The quantity can also be easily adapted to how many people you need to feed, just change up or down the amount of rice, meat and vegetables you use.

Start off by cooking your bacon. If you have never cooked your bacon in the oven, I HIGHLY suggest you give it a try. I will never fry bacon in a skillet again. I line a baking sheet with foil (for easy clean up) and lay the bacon out in a single layer. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bacon you are using.



While the bacon is cooking, start some butter in a pan (I used 1/2 stick for 1 1/2 cups of rice).



This is the rice I use. Jasmine rice is really so wonderful, please don't substitute minute rice with this dish, use Jasmine rice!!



Once the butter is melted and foamy, add your rice.



Your rice should look like this:



Once your rice is nice and brown, add the required amount of liquid according to the rice package directions PLUS 1/2 cup more. The vegetables with soak up some of the water, so you will need a bit more. Also add any seasoning you like. I used salt, pepper & hot sauce. Cover and cook rice.



You are ready to add the cut vegetables of your choice now. I used purple onion, zucchini, celery & carrots. Again - this is so versatile, add what ever veggies you have on hand or that you like.



Add these to the rice while it is still cooking, re-cover and cook until rice is done (about 20 minutes). Make sure to check and see if you have enough liquid, if it looks a little dry, add a little more in 1/4 cup amounts until the rice and veggies are nice and tender - but NOT RUNNY!



This is what it should look like. Looks good, huh?!



Now you are ready for the bacon. Any sort of meat will work for this, left over chicken, sausage, ham, turkey, shrimp - the possibilities are endless! I recently did one with bacon and leftover chicken strips from KFC and let me tell you - I couldn't stop eating it.



Chop the bacon. I like to keep my pieces fairly large, I want to be able to taste the bacon when I'm eating it, not just get a hint of it.Add the bacon at the very end and give it a good stir and you are ready to serve it!



Spoon it in a bowl and you are ready to go. This is great because I think it works well as a side dish OR a main dish.


Now quit trying to smell your computer screen and go make you some!!

WE HAVE A NAME & A WINNER!!

Thanks to all who took the time to not only submit a name, but vote on a winning name. By popular choice the winning name for my mixer is:

SIR MIX A LOT

Wooot!! So glad this one won, it was my personal favorite :) Teresa, I have sent you an email, so please respond as soon as you can!

TIME TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE!!

Please take a minute to vote for your favorite name for my new Kitchenaid mixer! The winner has several prizes riding on this - including some yummy cookies made by none other than ME!

This poll will be up for the next several days, and I hope that you all take a short minute, glance through the names and then vote on your favorite!

You will find the poll at the top of the blog, before the posts :)

Thanks :)