So a couple of weeks back when I was at BlogHer’11, I was fortunate enough to be invited on a cruise around Coronado Island on a catamaran (special thanks to Tiffany Noth (aka @BloggyMoms) for the invite and to BlogWorld for hosting such a fantastic event on the perfect summer afternoon!).

Anyways, while on the cruise, I was lucky enough to meet Diane Mizota (@popVP), a beautiful woman inside and out who also happens to be the vp of pop culture for popchips. I had eaten popchips before, so when she told me all about how she got the job (um people, her boss is the super hot Ashton Kutcher…and yes, she has met him and yes, he really is that hot!) I was so excited to have been able to meet her. Follow her on Twitter because she’s funny and posts some really funny videos, too.

If you don’t know popchips, you are SO missing out! Here is a little bit about them straight from the website:

We don’t fry it (unhealthy). We don’t bake it (undelicious). We take wholesome potatoes, add a little heat and pressure, and pop! It’s a chip. The only thing added is a flavorful blend of seasonings for a snack so delicious and crispy, you won’t even notice it’s (we hesitate to say) healthier.

What’s out? More than half the fat of fried potato chips, trans fats, and cholesterol. All gone. For good. What’s popped in? Only what’s natural, tons of delicious, and plenty of crunch.

But again, I digress. The other day, while reading Everyday with Rachael Ray, I read a tip in the magazine to crush up popchips and put them on a tuna fish sandwich for a little extra oomph. I immediately thought of my new friend Diane, so I tweeeted her about the tip and she said it was in fact yummy. Which made me think: what if I added popchips as the breading on baked “fried“ chicken instead of using regular old bread crumbs? She and popchips loved the idea and wanted to hear how it turned out. In one word, it turned out FANTASTIC!!

popchips Baked “Fried“ Chicken

• 1 bag of original potato popchips finely crushed
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 lb. of chicken breasts, tenders, or any other boneless cut (I used chicken tenders)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Stir together original potato popchips, garlic powder and fresh ground pepper in a medium sized bowl.

In a separate bowl, melt the butter. Add chicken to the butter to coat it on both sides, then place in the popchips mixture, pressing chicken into crumbs to help them adhere to the chicken. Place the chicken in a shallow baking pan.

Bake chicken until well browned and cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes. Let stand, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes to crisp.

Enjoy!

That’s Mia…she asked for seconds and thirds!

That’s it, people…it really was that easy. Now here are a few things that I should tell you…

1. I crushed the popchips with my hands and a spoon. Next time I will pulse them in a blender to get them to a more uniform and finely crushed size.
2. I mixed in somesour cream and onion popchipswith the original ones, thinking it might give it a mashed potato taste. I didn’t taste it and neither did my husband. I need to play with this more, but next time I’m thinking I will use all of the sour cream and onion popchips instead of the original.
3. I baked it in my NuWave oven…it was too hot to turn on the oven.
4. I can’t wait to try this on pork chops too!

Disclaimer: Nobody, including popchips, Diane Mizota, or Ashton Kutcher asked me to write about popchips or create a recipe for them. But if Ashton asked, I totally would have. I did this because I love popchips and thought it sounded like a yummy idea…and I was right. If popchips wants to make me their head chef, buy the recipe, make me their poster child…whatever…I’m also totally open to that.