Almond-Crusted Chicken

I love finding recipes that are healthy but resemble their non-healthy counterparts and are just as satisfying. This is one of those recipes - chicken with a crunchy almond coating that you could almost swear was breaded and fried. Okay - so it's not an exact replica. But it comes pretty darn close! Thanks, Real Simple. Now to find a healthy counterpart for cheesy, gooey mac & cheese ;)


Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup raw almonds
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
2 large egg whites
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
*To the ground almonds, I also added onion powder and dried parsley.


Directions
1. In a food processor, finely chop the almonds. Don't make them too fine, as you'll want some granules to be larger to provide texture to the coating once you put it on the chicken.
2. Transfer the almonds to a flat dish (this will make it easier to coat the chicken). Stir in the paprika, onion powder and dried parsley.

3. In a second flat dish or shallow bowl, whisk together two egg whites.
4. Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.

I find it easiest to set up an assembly-line of sorts...for faster chicken coating :)

5. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg, and let any excess drip back into the bowl.
6. Place the chicken into the almond mixture and press to coat. Flip and repeat with second side.
7. Place in baking dish, cover with foil and refrigerate for 20 minutes to set the coating.

8. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
9. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
10. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and place in the skillet.
11. Cook 3-4 minutes per side until the coating is golden brown.

12. Transfer to the baking dish and bake 20 minutes.

I served the chicken with small potatoes, quartered and sautéed in olive oil, salt and pepper (they taste like french fries if you let them get crispy enough on the outside!) and broiled asparagus. It was also great leftover for lunch the next day!