The Betty Crocker Project : The Vegan Cheesy Chicken Fingers & Some Long Lost Loves

From time to time it is hard to not get nostalgic for food you enjoyed in childhood. I personally loved those little cheddar cheese goldfish crackers. One of my favorite memories was my grandfather putting them in my soup. I took them to school with me almost everyday in a sandwich bag and when I went vegan I admit I missed them a little. That's why when I found these Eco-Planet Non-Dairy Cheddar Crackers I kinda freaked out a little. I mean they are shaped like little electric cars and windmills and that's not as cute as a smiley fish but they have filled that space in my heart that missed those little crackers. They also make it possible to veganize Betty's cheesy crunchy chicken fingers*. Dan had his fantasy basketball draft last night and cheesy chicken fingers with some waffle fries kinda seemed the perfect meal for such an occasion.

Here's a few other childhood favorites that some of you newly veganed folks might be interested in to help make that transition into cruelty free living : 

• Marshmallows! There are several brands these days that make vegan marshmallows. Sweet & Sara are a favorite of mine and they even have special Halloween marshmallows shaped like bats & ghosts on sale right now. There is also Chicago Soy Dairies' Dandies which are pretty perfect in Hot Cocoa.
• Which brings me to Instant Hot Cocoa! Ah!Laska's Organic Instant Hot Cocoa is a pretty extraordinary treat for those nights when you just want to add water.
• Vegan Corn Dogs by Cedar Lake Foods. That pretty much says all I need to say about that. 
• Memory can be kind to some old friends - like Cheetos and I actually think Tings are much better version of the cheesy snack puffs. I think Tings are actually better than most things. To quote Food Fight Grocery "Better than squirrels and kittens hugging."

OK back to our recipe...

Cheesy Chick Fingers

• 2 Cups Match Vegan Meat - Chicken (defrosted and formed into fingers - this should make around 8-10 - try to make sure they around the same size)
• 2 Cups Eco-Planet Non-Dairy Cheddar Crackers (crushed)
• 1/2 Cup Daiya Cheddar (shredded)
• 1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes 
• Olive Oil Cooking Spray 
• Your Favorite BBQ Sauce for Dipping 

Heat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet with Olive Oil Cooking Spray.

In a large resealable plastic bag, mix Crushed Crackers, Daiya and Nutritional Yeast. Add Chicken Strips to the bag one at a time, seal the bag and shake. Before removing form the bag gently press the Cracker coating into the Chicken Strip. Place the Cracker Crusted Chicken Strips in a single layer on the sheet. make sure they aren't touching.

Bake uncovered for around 10 minutes. The larger the strip the longer it will take to cook so if you went big give them a little longer in the oven. Remove when the crackers begin to brown.

A Close Up :

*I've always kinda found the term "Chicken Fingers" to be kinda icky. Eating anyone's fingers seems pretty gross and I especially don't like the idea of eating the fingers of a cute little bird but it seemed to work with all the Halloween stuff going around right now.

PS - If you love robots like I do - you'll like this. Hilarious.