Recipe #9 - Chicken Avocado Melt

This recipe we just had tonight! It's really good, and pretty easy to make. I love avocados, and quite honestly, I thought they were what made the dish so good. Even Rusty ate the avocados!! :)

Ingredients:
*4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
*2/3 cup cornstarch
*2 tsp ground cumin
*2 tsp garlic powder
*2 tsp salt
*1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
*1 egg
*2 tblsp water
*1/2 cup cornmeal
*1/4 cup vegetable oil
*1 medium avocado, thinly sliced
*shredded cheese

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness, set aside on a large plate. Combine the cornstarch, cumin, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg and water and beat. Dip the chicken first in the egg, then into the cornstarch mixture, and back onto the plate. Coat with cornmeal.

**Note: If you don't have a skillet large enough for all of the chicken at once, you can do this next step in two batches.** In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken, until it's golden brown on both sides - about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place the chicken into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top each piece of chicken with the sliced avocado. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until juices run clear. Sprinkle with cheese, and serve.

The original recipe (from The Best of Country Cooking 1998) calls for half of the amounts shown above for the cornstarch, cumin, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper. I ran out of the coating mixture and wasn't able to coat my chicken as much as I would've liked to. I'm OK with throwing out a little extra, just to make sure I have plenty to use. If you find this to be too much for your preference, these ingredients can be cut in half.

I loved how tender the chicken was. The coating wasn't crispy, like I thought it might be. I'm not sure why I expected it to be that way. My favorite bites were those topped with avocado. I thought just the chicken needed a little more flavor, but I'm hoping that having the extra coating (by doubling that part of the recipe next time) will help out.

Overall, this recipe was really good and will get made again in this house! :)

TTFN!