Healthy Crispy Chicken

Healthy, crispy, juicy chicken! Yum! This recipe is great for making your own chicken fingers with thin strips of chicken, or a healthy version of "oven-fried" chicken with bone-in chicken breasts and thighs. This recipe makes a lot of great substitutions to decrease the level of fat and calories, without compromising too much on flavor. The outside of these strips stays nice and crunchy with a subtle kick of spice from cayenne pepper and mustard, while the yogurt mixture helps keep the chicken tender and juicy. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces, like barbecue or honey-mustard.

RECIPE: Healthy Crispy Chicken
adapted from The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger
makes about 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 sleeve (about 20) whole-grain saltine crackers, pulsed in a food processor to fine crumbs (about 1/2 cup)
2.5 cups corn flakes, pulsed in food processor to fine crumbs (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 large egg whites
2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 pounds skinless chicken (whatever you prefer: breasts, bone-in breasts and thighs, or cut smaller strips or nuggets), rinsed and patted dry

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375F for larger breast pieces; 400F for skinny chicken strips. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine the saltine and cornflake crumbs, sesame seeds, cayenne, and garlic powder in a shallow bowl.
 In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, yogurt, mustard, and salt. Coat the chicken pieces thoroughly with the yogurt mixture. One at a time, dip the chicken pieces in the cracker mixture, packing the crumbs evenly onto the chicken. Arrange the chicken on the prepared baking sheet and spray the tops lightly with cooking spray. Bake until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with a knife. 45-50 minutes for larger chicken breasts; about 10-15 minutes for skinny chicken strips.