Szechuan Crispy Chicken Salad

What a long week....almost there...another entree salad tonight...quick and easy! The thing i love most about preparing chicken this way is teaching the little one that it is possible to make a healthy crispy chicken nugget. I actually saw this technique done by that naked chef guy...Jamie Oliver. I have made it my own by jacking up the breading on the chicken with a ton of spice. If your not in the mood to have this awesome chicken over a salad i would definately suggest pairing it with sliced baked sweet potatoes lightly dusted with a little cinnamon to bring out the earthy taste of the sweet potato. This salad was quick, different and actually left our daughter asking for seconds....of a salad....success!!!!!! The best part is 4 chicken strips was more than enough for all three salads and leftovers for Cam's lunch tomorrow.

What you will need:

4 chicken strips ($2.75)

1 egg white

1 1/2 heads romaine hearts ($1.50)

1 roma tomato ($.25)

1 cucumber ($.48)

1 can water chestnuts ($.50)

1 can mandarin oranges ($.50)

1 handful of chow mein noodles or crispy wonton ($.25-$.50)

1 cup whole wheat flower

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

4 tbs olive oil ($.30)

1/4 cup Ken's sesame ginger dressing (again...this was free using coupon)

How to make it happen:

I started this one by slicing the chicken down to popcorn like bites and marinating in a tbs of the dressing. I mixed all of the dry ingredients together and set aside. I chopped the lettuce, tomato and cucumber and threw in the oranges and water chestnuts before slipping into the fridge to cool while i cooked the chicken. I like to dredge my chicken in the dry mix before dipping in the egg white and returning to the dry mix. I heat the oil up to a medium heat before adding the chicken. I like to fry on one side, flip and then add a lid to lock in some moisture. I can't give you a real time to cook this....just keep an eye on it and brown it to your liking. Once you remove the lid you can crisp it up to your liking as well. The pan is going to dry out...but thats cool....so much better than saturating the chicken under oil. Let the chicken chill on a paper towel while you toss the salad with the dressing. I like to plate the salad before adding the chicken and the chow mein noodles or crispy wonton. That my friends is one tasty take on a Szechuan Chicken salad that will feed four for under 7 bucks...holla!