Move Over Breadcrumbs - Bring On the Tortilla Chips

One of Jamie's favorite meals is a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich...but it's not exactly one of my favorites, and I'll usually end up making two different types of sandwiches to satisfy both of us. But when I saw this recipe in my latest issue of Cooking Light magazine, I thought it would be perfect. We both loved it - it had enough flavor and spice from the Frank's sauce, but it wasn't completely covered in a sauce, which I sometimes find overpowering. I loved the texture of the tortilla chip crust, it definately added more crunch and flavor than breadcrumbs. And the cilantro-lime mayo added an extra zing and coolness that you get from blue cheese dressing on traditional Buffalo-style sandwiches. I served this with cumin-lime seasoned baked potato wedges & corn drizzled with lime juice.


Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro-Lime Mayo
Cooking Light

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)
Ingredients

Mayo:
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro I used 1/2-1 tbsp dried
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced

Chicken:
1/4 cup egg substitute
3 tablespoons hot sauce (such as Tabasco) I added 4 tbsp of Frank's Red Hot
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 1/2 ounces baked tortilla chips (about 6 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
I added 1/4 tsp each of cayenne and black pepper

Remaining ingredients:
4 (2-ounce) Kaiser rolls, split I just had regular hamburger buns
12 (1/8-inch-thick) red onion slices
4 lettuce leaves

Preparation
1. To prepare mayo, combine the first 4 ingredients.

2. To prepare chicken, combine egg substitute, hot sauce, oregano, and salt in a large zip-top plastic bag. Cut chicken breast halves in half horizontally to form 4 cutlets. Add chicken to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 2 hours or up to 8 hours, turning bag occasionally. I marinated it for 4 hours.

3. Place tortilla chips in a food processor; process 1 minute or until ground. Place ground chips in a shallow dish.

4. Working with one cutlet at a time, remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Coat chicken completely in chips. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and chips.

5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned and done. Spread mayo evenly over cut sides of rolls. Layer bottom half of each roll with 3 onion slices, 1 lettuce leaf, and 1 chicken cutlet; top with top halves of rolls. my chicken was a little thick, so I needed more time to cook through.


Oven Fried Cumin-Lime Potato Wedges

4 large russet potatoes, washed, unpeeled, cut into thick wedges
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp Mexican chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
lime zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss all the ingredients except for the lime zest in a large bowl.

Bake wedges on a non-stick baking sheet for 30 minutes, turn wedges, bake for an additional 15 minutes. If they are not crispy enough, turn the heat up higher for a few minutes. Sprinkle with some lime zest as soon as they come out of the oven.