Crunchy Tortilla Chicken with Avocado Dip

My husband loved this chicken recipe, which was taken from the "gobble me" section of the cookbook called Bite Me. Unfortunately, at the time, I wasn't able to make the dip because I purchased  avocados with the consistency of ball bearings; this, after telling a fellow customer at the grocery store that the avocados were simply too hard to use.

Ingredients:
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 and 1/2 cups of sour cream
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme ( I left this out)
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 2 and 1/2 cups of Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs; these are available at most grocery stores)
- 2 cups of crushed tortilla chips
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cups of jarred jalapeno peppers, dried and chopped

Avocado Dip:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper

Place the chicken between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound it with a rolling pin to an even thickness of about 1/2 inch. In a large bowl, combine the sour cream, brown sugar, chili powder, thyme, salt , pepper and garlic powder. Add the chicken and toss it around until it's coated in the marinade. Leave in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and coat with cooking spray or a little oil. In a large bowl, combine the panko, tortilla chips, cheddar and jalapenos. Remove the chicken from the marinade and coat each piece with the panko mixture. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

For the dip, place the mayonnaise, sour cream, avocado, lime juice, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend everything until smooth. This makes 2 cups of yummy, yummy, yummy avocado dip. And yes, I like avocados.

Editorial Note: The Bite Me authors suggest placing the whole avocado pit in the centre of the dip to keep it from going brown if you are not planning on eating the dip immediately. I've not tried this before...it seems like a bit of magical thinking to me.