Stoney's Crew: Chicken Strips to Make Ahead

I am not much of a Once-A-Month Cooking (OAMC) type...with just Stoney and me here at the lab, it would end up being Once-A-QUARTER Cooking! Especially since Stoney no longer takes leftovers for lunch! So I pretty much stick with Stoney Style OAMC...things like Microwave Popcorn, muffins, granola bars, and such!

That said, while floating around in the blog-o-sphere, I happened across the blog "Cooking During Stolen Moments." After reading a couple of entries and recipes I became a subscriber! This recipe is adapted from Kate's recipe.

Stoney's Crew Chicken Strips

1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup just add water pancake mix

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce (you decide how much for your family, we like "warm")

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cut chicken breasts into strips (or chunks or cubes). Mix the remainder of the ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk.

Heat oil in fryer or fry pan to about 350 degrees F. When the oil is ready, dip and cover the chicken strips in the batter and place in hot oil, turning after 3 minutes. After side 2 has cooked an additional 3 minutes remove to papertowel lined platter or cookie sheet.

Serve with Ranch or Blue Cheese Salad Dressing (or your family favorite sauce) for dipping. This batch made more than enough for 2 meals for Stoney & I; so to keep it simple let's say it serves 4.

If you would like to freeze and store the strips for future use, flash freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet and then store in airtight ZipLoc in freezer. To reheat, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for about 15 minutes.

These strips do freeze well, and when I make again, I will double or triple the recipe and freeze. Not because it was difficult to make or because I have a burning desire to OAMC!...more because I am anti-mess in the kitchen and even after all of these years, finding a way to NOT make a mess while deep-frying has eluded me so a big batch and one time mess it is! This batter would also be great for fish!

If you have any tips on how to fry and not make a mess, drop a comment below! I would love to have help on this! Hmmmm...I wonder if I could use the burner on the grill and make these outside...I feel a lab experiment coming on!