Recipe of the Month

Each month, the same scenario occurs: the hot lunch form comes home I think ‘I wonder how much begging I am going to have to deal with this time’. The usual choices include hot dogs & chips, macaroni and butter, fried chicken tenders with fries and pizza. I do allow the one slice of pizza each Friday however, the rest is a no-go.

In order to avoid the sad puppy eyes and the guilt, I offer the following on chicken day: I send her to school with these Baked Chicken Tenders.  She smiles + I smile + her body smiles = win-win! See, math can be fun!

These crispy chicken tenders are made with boneless, skinless chicken breast tenderloin that are crispy thanks to Panko bread crumbs and baking on a cooling rack — no deep-frying necessary. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup yellow mustard
2 tablespoon orange juice
1 large clove garlic, minced
2-3 lbs of organic chicken tenderloins or chicken breast, cut into strips
olive oil cooking spray
1/2 cup whole wheat or flour all-purpose
3 large organic eggs
2 cups coarse dry whole-wheat Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoons salt, divided

Directions:

1. Combine the honey, mustard, orange juice and garlic in a bowl and whisk until combined. Pour the mixture into a storage bag, add the chicken and marinate 30 minutes to a few hours.Directions:

2. When you are ready to bread the tenders, preheat oven to 450 degrees and prepare the baking sheet by placing a cooling rack on it (it helps crisp the entire coating).

3. Create the following assemble line: A shallow bowl containing the flour, a lightly beat eggs in the second shallow bowl, and the breadcrumbs in a third shallow bowl.

4. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the bowls containing the flour and the one containing the breadcrumbs and mix well.

5. Spray the cooling rack with the cooking spray. Coat each tender in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip the tender in the egg and let excess drip off. Then roll in the breadcrumb mixture and place the tenders on the prepared rack.

6. Bake the tenders for 18-20 minutes depending on thickness of the tenders.

Oh, and naturally, you need a mustard dipping sauce!

Recipe courtesy of Jennifer Leal of Savor the Thyme.  She is a mom to a 5 and 7-year old and is a self-proclaimed scientist turned foodie. Jennifer has worked as a Frigidaire Mom, Ziploc Ambassador, Mott's Mom Babble Family Kitchen Contributor as well as an UDI's Community Leader this year.