Chicken Buddies (Chicken Patty Sandwiches)

I love chicken sandwiches.  I came up with this one after remembering a chicken sandwich I used to have as a kid.  I can't remember where the chicken sandwich was from but I remember it was called a "Chicken Little."  It was a simple sandwich made from a chicken patty served on a hamburger bun with mayonnaise, ketchup, and tomato.  Sometimes you could add cheese to it.  I have made my own version of that sandwich here, and I've named it Chicken Buddy.  I am not sure where Chicken Buddy came from, it just popped into my brain and stuck!  This sandwich is really yummy, fast, fits in with a tight budget, and is something you can feel good about eating because YOU made it!  It can be prepared ahead of time or leftover patties can be easily frozen for another quick and easy meal!  I served these up with some oven fried sweet potato fries!  Yum!


Chicken Buddy Sandwiches

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup grated cheese (like cheddar, jack, parmesan, whatever you like.  I used a cheddar jack blend)
• 1 tbsp. granulated garlic
• 1 tbsp. dried italian herbs
• 2 large eggs
• salt and pepper
• 4 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1/2-1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used my own but you can use store bought)
• hamburger buns, sliced cheese, condiments for serving

In a food processor, process the chicken breast until the consistency of ground chicken (however, do not use ground chicken, these will not turn out the right way).  This will take less than a minute.  Remove the chicken to a bowl.  Add the eggs, mayo, dijon, cheese, garlic, herbs, half of the bread crumbs, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Place the other half of the bread crumbs in a shallow dish.  The mixture will be wet.  With damp hands, form the mixture into patties.  Coat each patty lightly with bread crumbs.   Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to "set" a minimum of one hour and as long as overnight.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Remove the patties from the fridge and drizzle with the butter (this helps them crisp up in the oven, if you don't want to use butter you can use a little olive oil).  Bake 20-25 minutes turning halfway through cook time.  Top with slices of cheese (if desired) and continue baking until melted.  Serve on a bun with your favorite toppings!  

Enjoy!  Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!