Pumpkin Seed Crusted Chicken Strips

Whenever I buy chicken breasts I always choose skinless, boneless,with the tenders attached. I remove the tenders and freeze them separately. These are perfect for things like stirfry or chicken fingers.

Today I decided to use up the frozen tenders, along with some pumpkin seeds, buttermilk and the last of a can of chipotle peppers to make some chicken strips for dinner.




 I had a small bit of blue cheese in the fridge, so combined this with a bit of the buttermilk, a clove of minced garlic, some apple cider vinegar and olive oil to make a dressing for the salad that I was serving with the chicken strips.

I made a marinade for the chicken using the buttermilk and minced
 chipotle pepper. I added a touch of brown sugar, lime zest and
 ground cumin and let it marinade for a couple of hours.

For the crumb coating I ground the pumpkin seeds in a coffee grinder and combined them with fresh breadcrumbs (I freeze the bread ends, and then throw them in the food processor to make fresh breadcrumbs. I keep them in the freezer, ready to use whenever I need).




                                                      
I removed the chicken strips from the marinade,allowing the excess to drain off,then coated them with the pumpkin seeds- breadcrumb mix, and placed them on a cookie sheet.

               Baked in a 400F oven until golden and crispy, and dinner was ready to go!