Almond Crusted Herb Chicken Breast (Paleo)

I had a delicious late lunch today! I'm a big fan of making almond crusted chicken. I've tried several recipes and I think I found my new favorite. I originally fell madly in love with using mesquite seasoning in my almond crusted chicken recipe BUT my mesquite seasoning is not Paleo or non-GMO. I'm trying to transition away from the mesquite seasoning because I do not want to cheat on my Paleo diet and I certainly do not want to eat any GMO ingredients. I do not use it often, but when I do I have a love-hate relationship with my dish. Love the flavor, hate whats in it that makes it taste so good. I've looked around for a Paleo mesquite seasoning recipe and I'm going to give it a try. I just keep forgetting to pick up the ingredients. ANYWAY- Here is the recipe that I used today for my delicious chicken.

Almond Crusted Herb Chicken

(Pan fried and then baked)

Ingredients
(Makes 1-2 servings depending on how hungry you are)

1 chicken breast (I cut mine into smaller thinner pieces so that it cooks faster)
1/2 cup almonds (crushed- I crush my own almonds in the food processor) or almond meal
1 large egg
About 10 basil leaves (chopped)
1/2-1 tsp of dried rosemary
1 tsp Mediterranean seasoning (or seasoning of your choice)
1/4 tsp dried basil
4 dashes of black pepper
1/4 tsp of sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp of oregano
About 3 tbsp coconut oil 

(All of the seasoning measurements are just estimations. I just "dashed" them in there until it looked like a good amount for my taste)

Directions
Mix the crushed almonds (or almond meal), basil, and seasoning spices together in a flat dish. Rinse your chicken breast, pat dry with paper towel, and cut into thinner pieces (my piece was big so I cut it into three thin pieces). If you do not cut the chicken breast smaller than cooking times will need to be longer. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crack the egg into a bowl or flat dish and whisk. Dip the chicken into the egg, coating each side. Then dip the chicken into the seasoned crushed almonds and coat each side. Pan fry the chicken on medium heat in about 2 tbsp of coconut oil for roughly 2.5 minutes on each side (depending on size and thickness of chicken breast). When chicken is almost thoroughly cooked, transfer to a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. I put the last tbsp of coconut oil on the baking sheet so that the chicken doesn't stick. If you do not grease the sheet then the almond coating may come off of the chicken and stick to the sheet. When chicken is thoroughly cooked, plate and enjoy!

You do not have to do both the pan frying and the baking if you do not want to. You could bake the chicken on a greased sheet for 20-25 minutes, or only pan fry in coconut oil for 10-15 minutes. I find that if you do both methods then you get a crunchy outside with a moist center. When I only bake the chicken I find that it has more of a floury taste. On the other hand when I only pan fry the chicken it is very moist and sometimes soggy. I prefer to pan fry and then bake, but you can choose whatever method suites your taste. I hope you enjoy!