Honey Dijon Chicken with a Toasted Almond Crust

This recipe started out with toasted almonds, which I did not have. So I toasted my own. It was easy and made the house smell amazing! After cooling, I put the almonds through the food processor and now have leftover toasted almond pieces that I am so excited to use in some new recipes. This one in particular from Tasty Kitchen was so delicious. From honey, dijon mustard, toasted almonds, and parmesan cheese, you have so many flavors smacking you in your taste buds that your head may spin a little bit. Now, for those who don't like dijon mustard, I don't either. The flavor of the dijon is underlying and wonderful, so use it. And try this recipe. Now. Go!

Honey Dijon Chicken with a Toasted Almond Crust
*Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

8 chicken tenders (or 3-4 chicken breast cut in strips)
1/2 cup dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups panko
1 cup roasted almonds, finely chopped-recipe to follow
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil to coat pan and drizzle on chicken

To roast almonds: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on a baking sheet lined with foil.

Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on almonds. I would guess I used about a tablespoon. A little goes a long way.

Bake for 10 minutes. When the almonds are done, remove from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels to allow excess oil to drain. Let the almonds cool and then process or store for whatever purpose.

Meanwhile, combine dijon mustard and honey in a bowl. Add in chicken and marinate in the fridge for 1/2 hour or more.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and place a baking dish or sheet in the oven to warm. In a shallow bowl, combine the finely chopped almonds, panko, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Remove chicken from honey dijon mixture one at a time and dredge in the almond mixture.

Place these on a plate as you complete them and place in the fridge for about 10 minutes. This allows the chicken time to "dry out," which will make the coating crispier.

Once the chicken is ready to come out of the fridge, remove the pan from the preheated oven. Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of the warmed dish.

Place chicken in the dish and drizzle with a little more olive oil. I also pressed on some extra almond coating at this point.

Cook for 10 minutes and flip then cook 10 minutes longer. This goes great with pasta in a garlic cream sauce!