A dear friend of mine had given me a package of Nut Crumbs as a hostess gift a couple weeks ago. I’ve been looking forward to trying these, so made chicken using them last night. They were so good! The package says they are a bread crumb alternative … the ingredients are pistachios, almonds, almond meal, cashews, salt and pepper. Marie found these at the Cedars Farmer’s Market in Solana Beach, CA. If you do not live near Solana Beach, and would like to purchase a bag of nut crumbs, you can visit their website, http://www.nutcrumbs.com. The company is Appel Foods.

I was perusing their website and below I’ve shown a couple pictures of what other nut crumbs they offer. On their website, you can also find recipes, which is fabulous!

I decided to coat the chicken breasts with a mixture I made with my nut crumbs. First, I sprinkled kosher salt and pepper over both sides of the chicken and then poured a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top.

I find that my chicken always turns out perfectly moist when I let it marinate in olive oil and vinegar for a bit, plus it gives it fantastic flavor.

I mixed 1/2 cup of nut crumbs with 1/4 cup of grated parmesan/romano cheese blend and added 3 tablespoons of pizza and pasta seasoning that I buy at The Spice Way. They have excellent spices and you can also order on-line from them at http://www.thespiceway.com. If you do not have this seasoning, any pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning will do (or a blend of both).

I coated both sides of the chicken and browned it for 3-4 minutes per side in a skillet that I could transfer to the oven where it could continue to cook for an additional 20-25 minutes (until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees).

I served my chicken over white cannellini beans that I had heated on the stove. I added a bit of dried rosemary for a little flavor on my beans. I also served a simple salad with romaine, shards of parmesan, croutons and dried cranberries along with my chicken and beans.

I loved this chicken, as did Dennis. We will definitely be buying these nut crumbs off the website in the future (or stopping in at the Cedars Farmer’s Market, which will be so much fun and a day I will look forward to). I will also be trying the other flavors they offer … along with some of their recipes. Thank you so much, Marie, for introducing me to this wonderful breading for my chicken (or fish, or pork …)!

Ingredients

boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup olive oil for marinade, plus 4 tablespoons for the skillet

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons pizza & pasta seasoning mix

1/4 cup graded parmesan/romano blend

1/2 cup nut crumbs

Directions

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, both sides.
2. Place chicken in a dish and add olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Let sit while you mix your nut crumb mix.
3. Mix nut crumbs, parmesan/romano cheese and pizza and pasta seasoning together.
4. Coat the chicken in nut crumb mixture.
5. Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large, oven proof skillet.
6. Brown chicken 3-4 minutes per side.
7. Place skillet in preheated 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes (until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees).

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris