Crunchy Tortilla Chicken with Avocado Dip from the cook book, Bite Me by Lisa Gnat & Julie Albert.  Serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 ½ cups  sour cream
• 2 tbsp    packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp   chili powder
• 1 tsp   chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp   kosher salt
• ½ tsp   freshly ground pepper
• ½ tsp   garlic powder
• 2 ½ cups  panko bread crumbs
• 2 cups   crushed tortilla chips (not too fine, just crushed with your hands)
• 1 cup   shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ -½ cup   jarred jalapeno peppers, dried off and chopped

Avocado Dip:

• ½ cup   mayonnaise
• ½ cup   sour cream
• 2 ripe    avocados, peeled and pit removed
• 2 tbsp   fresh lime juice
• ¼ tsp   ground cumin
• ¼ tsp   cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp   kosher salt
• ¼ tsp   freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Place chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness, about 1/2-inch thick.
2. In a large bowl combine sour cream, brown sugar, chili powder, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add chicken and toss to coat, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil coated with non-stick cooking spray.
4. In a large bowl, combine panko, tortilla crumbs, cheddar and chopped jalapenos.  Remove chicken from marinade and coat each piece with panko mixture, pressing down so coating sticks well to each piece. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 20-23 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
5. For the avocado dip:  Place mayonnaise, sour cream, avocado, lime juice, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Serve alongside chicken but if you're not eating it immediately, place avocado pit in the bowl to keep the dip from turning brown. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  Dip yields 2 cups.