Baked Buffalo "Chicken" Bites

I know what you're thinking. "Why is there chicken on this vegetarian blog?" "What a scary, big knife she has. Looks dangerous." "Has she lost it and finally eaten some Chick-fil-a?" Because believe me, I miss Chick-fil-a. But no, I adapted Pennies on a Platter's Buffalo Chicken Bites to be vegetarian!

Baked Buffalo "Chicken" Bites

• 2 1/2 cups fake chicken product, finely chopped (I used a bag of MorningStar Farms Meal Starters Chik'n Strips. And by all means use real chicken if you want. I guess.)
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (Texas Pete is better than Frank's)
  
• 3 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened
  
• 1 1/2 cups low fat shredded cheddar cheese
  
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  
• 4 cups crushed Corn Flakes
  

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix the chicken, cream cheese and hot sauce until combined. Stir in the cheddar cheese and green onions.

Use an ice cream scooper to plop balls of the chicken mixture on a separate baking sheet or plate. I covered and refrigerated mine for an hour or so as I ran errands to ensure they'd be solid enough to dip.

In three separate bowls, set out the flour, eggs and Corn Flakes like an assembly line. This is actually pretty similar to my zucchini chips. Dip each chicken ball first into the flour, then the egg and ending with the Corn Flakes. Again, this will get pretty messy and I even stepped back to photograph it to prove I'm not exaggerating. Tip: do not assemble in the smallest corner of your kitchen counter.

Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm with ranch or blue cheese dressing. Yields 18-20 large bites.

I think these are delicious on their own, but I heated up two and put them on my Subway Veggie Delite sandwich and oh man was it good. I think you could fool a meat eater into thinking these were made with real chicken.