Macadamia Crusted Chicken with Mango Salsa

So when I intially selected this recipe...I did not read the fine print and realized that the reason this chicken would taste SO GOOD was the fact that it was deep fried!  ANYTHING deep fried tastes good-you just can't go wrong (except when it comes to your waistline) with deep fried anything! :)

In my attempt to be healthy, I tried baking this chicken--soooo not worth it!  It misses the crunch...it misses the texture...it's just not worth it!!!

So eat granola for breakfast and a lean protein for lunch if your making this for dinner!

***One more side note:  Macadamia nuts are kind of pricey $$$...you may try almonds or pecans***

INGREDIENTS:

12 chicken tenderloins (or cut chicken strips)
1 cup of flour generously seasoned with salt and pepper
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4-6 oz. macadamia nuts, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
oil for deep frying
salt for seasoning

MANGO SALSA:

1 medium mango, finely diced (I prefer a yellow mango (much sweeter!)
3 tablespoons finely diced red or white onion
2 Tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
Juice from 1 lime

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the chicken into strips.  Dust the chicken strips with flour, THEN dip them in the egg and finally coat them in the combined nuts and breadcrumbs.  Chill for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

To make the mango salsa, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside or chill until you are ready to use.

Fill a large, heavy sauce pan or skillet with oil.  Heat oil ( Not too hot, but hot enough that the chicken does not soak in the oil and take on that flavor!)

You can tell the oil is hot when you drop a cube of bread into the oil and it browns in 15 seconds.

Cook the chicken strips in batches for about 4-5 minutes (until cooked through).  Be careful not to burn the nuts! :)  Drain the chicken on crumpled paper towels.  Serve the chicken warm topped with the mango salsa.

(Also good cut up with mango salsa in a lettuce wrap :)

Recipe courtesy of: melskitcehncafe.com ( I altered a few things after trying it! :)