Chili Sauce for Chicken Fingers

I admit, not every meal I cook is from scratch. I’d say maybe 99% of them are home-cooked. But for that other 1% I’m a sucker for something pre-cooked, and often it’s pre-cooked chicken fingers (I use Tyson’s Crispy Chicken Strips, actually). I can’t help it. I like them. To make myself feel better about eating them I make my own sauce for dipping. This chili sauce is easy to make, which fits in well with the I-don’t-have-time-to-cook-dinner theme, and it goes great with chicken fingers.

Chili Sauce for Chicken Fingers

A little sweetness and a little fruitiness. Chili Sauce for chicken fingers is also perfect for dipping nuggets. Oh, that reminds me, check out my homemade chicken nuggets! It’s also fantastic for shrimp, boiled or deep fried. You can use thawed frozen mango and canned pineapple instead of fresh, making this sauce easy to make any time of the year.

These little sauce dipping cups are great for serving this sauce. They’re easy to clean up, too. And they’re also great for dipping nuggets, tenders or even chicken wings.

Also try my copycat of Chick-fil-A’s chicken finger dipping sauce or my firecracker dipping sauce.

This recipe is based on a recipe from Ask Chef Dennis.

Chili Sauce for Chicken Fingers
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5 from 1 vote

Chili Sauce for Chicken Fingers

This chili sauce is easy to make, which fits in well with the I-don’t-have-time-to-cook-dinner theme, and it goes great with chicken fingers.
Course Sauce
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken fingers, dipping sauce
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 cups
Calories 308kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
  • Serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1276mg | Potassium: 114mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 71g | Vitamin A: 470IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Mango-Basil Dipping Sauce

I love using cocktail sauce for dipping boiled or grilled shrimp. When I don’t make my own I grab a bottle or two of cocktail sauce at the store. But there are times when you want something different. A different flavor than cocktail sauce, something fruity. Something without horseradish.

Mango-Basil Dipping Sauce

This mango-basil dipping sauce is different. It has a fantastic tropical flavor, making it perfect for shrimp.

You can make other variations of this great mango-basil dipping sauce simply by substituting other fruits for the mango, such as papaya or pineapple. If you want a little kick to your sauce, add a bit of hot sauce (preferably something fruity, like a habanero sauce) or even some red pepper flake. You can use different flavored hot sauces too, to come up with totally new versions of this dipping sauce. Cholula, one of my favorite hot sauces, makes this 5-pack that has all sorts of different flavored sauces.

These little sauce dipping cups are great for serving this sauce. They’re easy to clean up, too. And they’re also great for dipping nuggets, tenders or even chicken wings.

For the shrimp, I made a batch of copycat Bubba Gump shrimp on my Char-Broil Big Easy.

Also try my Delta Dippin’ sauce. It’s mighty yummy too!

Mango-Basil Dipping Sauce
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4 from 1 vote

Mango-Basil Dipping Sauce

This mango-basil dipping sauce is different. It has a fantastic tropical flavor, making it perfect for shrimp.
Course Sauce
Cuisine American
Keyword dipping sauce, fruity, herbs
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 cup
Calories 267kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1169mg | Potassium: 799mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 4499IU | Vitamin C: 179mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Pineapple Mango Daikon Salad

Chilled fresh pineapple topped with a mix of sweet (mango and honey) and heat (jalapeno and a little bite from the daikon radish and cilantro). This pineapple mango daikon salad is an excellent salad for a hot summer day. You can serve it with the pineapple chopped up, or use halved pineapple as a bowl as I did.

Pineapple Mango Daikon Salad

Can’t find daikon? You can make this pineapple mango daikon salad with jicama instead. To make the pineapple halve I started with a fresh, perfectly ripe pineapple. I use a pineapple corer to remove the core. I found a great inexpensive corer over on Amazon. Then I cut off the rind and cut the pineapple in halves. It’s a quick way to make a ‘bowl’ for this or any fresh fruit-based salad.

Also try my wild rice and pineapple salad.

Pineapple Mango Daikon Salad
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4 from 1 vote

Pineapple Mango Daikon Salad

This pineapple mango daikon salad is an excellent salad for a hot summer day. You can serve it with the pineapple chopped up, or use halved pineapple as a bowl as I did.
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword pineapple, salad
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 154kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 lime zested and juiced
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 jalapeno seeded and finely diced
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 mangos peeled and chopped
  • 1 large daikon radish peeled and grated
  • 1 bunch cilantro chopped
  • 1 pineapple peeled, cored, halved, each half then cut into 3 equal rounds (like little ‘boats’). Note: Wait until the above ingredients have chilled 30 minutes before cutting the pineapple.

Instructions

  • Whisk together the lime juice and zest, vinegar, honey, jalapeno, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.
  • Add in the chopped mango, daikon and cilantro. Stir and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • To serve, spoon mango mixture into the pineapple boats.
  • Note: This recipe doesn’t hold up well left over, so enjoy it the day you make it!

Nutrition

Calories: 154kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 441mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 955IU | Vitamin C: 116mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

Avocado with Crab-Mango Salad

This avocado with crab-mango salad is a great dish as an appetizer or a side salad. It’s light and refreshing and darned tasty to boot! This is the perfect salad for a warm summer brunch, combining crunchy and creamy textures into each and every bite. And of course there’s decadent crab throughout.

Avocado with Crab-Mango Salad

Use a good quality lump crab. I made these by using a cookie cutter to form them. You can also just use an avocado half, with the pit removed of course, to serve them in like little salad bowls!

Also try my avocado wraps with spicy mayonnaise and my ham salad filled avocados.

Avocado with Crab-Mango Salad
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5 from 1 vote

Avocado with Crab-Mango Salad

This avocado with crab-mango salad is a great dish as an appetizer or a side salad. It’s light and refreshing and darned tasty to boot! 
Course Side Dish or Appetizer
Cuisine American
Keyword avocado, crab, salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 325kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 lime zested and halved
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
  • ½ mango peeled and diced
  • cup red bell pepper diced
  • cup red onion diced
  • ½ jalapeno diced
  • ½ pound crabmeat jumbo lump
  • 3 avocados cut into 1/4″ bites

Instructions

  • Squeeze half a lime into a bowl. Add the oil and cilantro and mix well.
  • Add the lime zest, mango, bell pepper, onion and jalapeno and mix well.
  • Add the crab and mix gently.
  • Drizzle the remaining lime juice over the avocado.
  • Place 1/4th of the avocado in the bottom of a large round cookie cutter or metal ring. Tamp down slightly with the bottom of a spoon.
  • Add in 1/4th of the crab salad and tamp down. Slowly remove the cookie cutter. I put a spoon on top of the salad mixture to hold it down while removing the cookie cutter.
  • Repeat with remaining avocado and crab salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 549mg | Potassium: 960mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 959IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional values are approximate.