This is going to be a bold statement, and I know, but this is the BEST AIR FRYER POPCORN CHICKEN.  Yes, I am shouting, because this recipe is so good – one of my top 5 for sure, and after blogging for nearly 11 years, that is saying a lot!

The star of these crunchy popcorn chicken is Safe + Fair’s olive oil and sea salt popcorn quinoa chips.  Last week I made blackened chicken, and they were good, but within a couple minutes out of the fryer, lost that crunch.

Guys – you need to buy these chips, not only because they are delicious on their own, but this was the missing crunch to my chicken – and last weeks blackened chicken was 5 points for the whole recipe, by subbing in mostly the popcorn quinoa chips, I was able to lower the self-rising flour to only 1/8 cup so this whole plate of chicken is only THREE POINTS!

If you don’t have a good processor, just put the chips in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush before mixing with the flour.

I am so happy with my blackened seasoning mix – the combination of the white and black pepper makes this flavorful spicy.  I season both the chicken and the flour mixture with the seasoning.

Last week I double dipped, but I decided to only do a dip in the egg/milk/hot sauce mixture, then pressed the popcorn quinoa coating into the chicken.

Here I am in action 😀  I really need to start my YouTube Channel 😀

This is key – don’t skip this step.  After you batter the chicken, place the plate in the freezer for 15 minutes.  It’s not long enough to even begin to freeze the chicken, but the batter will stay on while you cook, flip the chicken, and take your first bite.  

My chicken pieces were a bit smaller than last week, so I cooked for 360 for the first 6 minutes, then flipped, and bumped the temp up to 400 for the last 4 minutes.  If you have a meat thermometer, it should read 165.

Also, when you spray the chicken, spray all sides so that you don’t see any flour.

I made a zero point ranch with 2 tablespoons of Chobani mixed with 1 teaspoon of ranch dressing mix – which is 5 calories, so I don’t count that shit. 😀

So that plate is two servings, and I nearly ate the whole plate – I just couldn’t get over how crunchy and flavorful and juicy this chicken was.  I could probably make these every week and not get sick of it.

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I had such a fun weekend – on Saturday I met up with my Instagram friend, turned real life friend – Tina.  Those are her two girls – so cute!  The younger one is my spirit animal. 😀

We met at a restaurant in Sycamore called The Pantry Cafe – so good!  The wait was a bit long, but it was worth the wait – my burger and sweet potato fries were amazing – I ate half of that plate.

Once you form a relationship online, when you meet in life (our second time!) it’s like running into an old friend from high school – well, let’s just say I probably graduated 16 or more years before Tina 😀

That middle child – I love her so.  That’s her real life size doll – this made me laugh so hard because the pants kept falling off.

And that’s the baby – Benson.  Is there any better sound than a kid laughing about bubbles?  It makes you remember to slow down and appreciate the little things in your life.  It’s easy to not notice them!

And Tina’s best friend Kelly also joined us for lunch – she DM’d me and said “don’t steel my best friend because you are famous!”  Ha!  Kelly has lost 87 pounds on WW and Tina has lost 50 and is almost at goal.  So inspiring!

So fun and we are already planning our next thrift shop excursion.  

Don’t forget that you can use my discount code Biz25 at Safe + Fair until the end of the month – free shipping too!  Just use that code at check out.

Tina and I talked about getting together since we first met in April – she only lives an hour from me, but I knew if we didn’t set a date, we’d talk about it all summer.

I’ve realized you have to make plans to make memories!   And guess what? I have FIVE events this week – so my goal is to maintain this week – I went to WW on Saturday and I was exactly the same as the week before.  

Happy Monday friends – make it a great day!  And make this popcorn chicken – it will be a weekly menu item, I just know it!