{"id":236,"date":"2012-01-24T18:09:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-24T18:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/?p=236"},"modified":"2012-01-24T18:09:00","modified_gmt":"2012-01-24T18:09:00","slug":"crispy-chikn-strips-with-fries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/?p=236","title":{"rendered":"Crispy ‘chik’n’ strips with fries"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I do try to eat well, I really do. I never crave a burger, but I do love chicken strips. How to make them a little healthier and without a stomachache after devouring them?<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
TOFU + OVEN!<\/b><\/div>\n
My ‘little’ cousin, Dusty, <\/b>has always loved chicken nuggets, more than anyone I know. He’s a little older now (and not so little at over 6 feet tall), so his obsession with the famous dippers has subsided but the memories are still there. Truly, if he couldn’t eat\/order chicken nuggets, chicken tenders or even chicken wheels<\/i> (don’t ask) during the first 8 years of his life, I’m not sure he would’ve survived. I suppose there are always french fries…<\/div>\n
<\/b><\/div>\n
which is another thing. French fries. <\/b>I don’t care what you say, I’d like to not extinguish these from my life forever. But we need healthier ways to eat these little jewels.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In comes the oven.<\/b> Using a combo of recipes from others, I made crispy ‘chik’n’ strips and fries (Idaho\u00a0 and sweet potato) for dinner while watching the double matinee of football games. (Okay, Matt watched, I cooked.) If tofu kind of freaks you out, this is a nice introduction. The strips are flavorful, not slimy, and really tasty, actually. Hope you enjoy.<\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Crispy Chik’n Strips<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b>(adapted from Oh She Glows<\/a> and Growing Up Veg<\/a>)<\/span>
Makes 8 strips–serves two to four adults <\/span><\/div>\n
I’ve put the ingredients and supplies in bold to make it easier.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
1 pound extra firm tofu<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
kitchen towel<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
2 heavy books<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
step one (prep the tofu): Drain the tofu from the package and wrap in a towel. Place 2 heavy books on top of it to drain out all of the moisture. Let sit for 20-30 minutes. Line\/spray 2 baking sheets, one for strips and one for fries.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a>1\/2 cup breadcrumbs or cereal (I used Rice Krispies)<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
1\/3 cup cornmeal<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
1\/2 t. of each: kosher salt, cumin, chili powder, and 1\/4 t. of cinnamon & cayenne (or a dash of red pepper flakes)<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
step two (make the breading): In a large bowl, mix the above ingredients. Crush the cereal before adding, if you have cereal. Preheat oven to 400!<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span>

<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a>1\/2 cup milk<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
1 TB cornstarch<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
1\/2 t. of each: kosher salt, cumin, chili powder, and 1\/4 t. cinnamon & cayenne (or a dash of red pepper flakes)<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
step three (make the dipper): In a medium bowl, whisk the above ingredients.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span>

<\/span>
<\/a>
<\/span><\/div>\n
1 Idaho potato (Dash: sea salt, garlic powder, chili powder)<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
1 sweet potato (Dash: sea salt, cinnamon, chili powder)<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
2 TB olive oil<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
step four (prep the fries): Cut each potato into fry shapes and toss in the spices and 1 TB olive oil. Do one potato at a time (garlic on sweet potatoes seems ick). Spread the fries onto one of the baking sheets, taking care to make sure they don’t overlap.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>
step five (bread ’em): Slice tofu into 8 long strips. Dip each tofu strip in the liquid and then into the <\/span>topping. Place breaded strips onto the 2nd baking sheet. Repeat ‘dip and top’ process for all of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

step six (bake): Put the strips on the top\/middle rack of the oven and the fries on the bottom rack. Bake for 20 minutes and then flip strips and fries. Bake another 15-20 minutes, watching carefully toward the end so you don’t scorch the fries. The strips should be crispy brown but not overly dry.<\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I am sad to report that we had NO leftovers…devoured. Done.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

**These recipes easily double, triple, quad, depending on the size of your group.<\/span> <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aioli in the middle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Dips<\/i><\/span><\/span>
I served with 3…<\/span>
-ketchup<\/span> <\/span>
-chili aioli<\/span>
-bbq sauce<\/span>

<\/span>

<\/span>
Chili Aioli<\/span><\/b><\/span>
1\/4 cup mayo (vegan, reg, lowfat, whatever)<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span>
1 1\/2 t. chili powder<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span>
1\/2 t. garlic powder<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span>
1\/2 t. cumin <\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span>
Dash kosher salt<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span>
Dash red pepper flakes<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span>
Juice of 1 lemon slice (optional)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span>
Mix all together and serve cold. Dip away.<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Now one last thing…<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/span>
<\/a>Happy 92nd birthday (Thursday) to my grandmother. In memory of a long, fruitful life of loving God and loving people.\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/span>
I mention her influence on my love for food and cooking quite regularly here, but she touched all areas of my life for the better. What a lady. I must admit, she only liked the crispy-not “soggy”-fries, so we ate lots of crispy ones in her honor. I love and miss her dearly. My parents gifted our home church with these flowers Sunday morning in memory of her birthday. Beautiful…thanks for that. She was a pink flower girl, with a splash of purple.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/i> <\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

Happy eating and happy living!
Laurel<\/div>\n

~Laurel~<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I do try to eat well, I really do. I never crave a burger, but I do love chicken strips. How to make them a little healthier and without a stomachache after devouring them? TOFU + OVEN! My ‘little’ cousin, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[184,98,185,33,45],"class_list":["post-236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-aioli","tag-chicken","tag-fries","tag-potatoes","tag-tofu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memoirmunchies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}