Kickin' chicken tenders
Chicken nugget day was always my favorite school lunch - now that I'm older and know better, I know the percentage of actual chicken in those things is scarily low. But dang, do they taste good. No need to stop eating chicken nuggets - just make them yourself with actual, honest-to-goodness chicken!
These are so easy and can be customized with whatever spices you prefer. I chose to kick things up a notch with some sriracha and more interesting spices, but if you're not into spice, omit the sriracha from the egg wash. Honestly though, I wouldn't consider these to be spicy at all. Want even more spice? Add several teaspoons of sriracha to the egg wash. Or to really up the spice level, omit the egg altogether and just coat the chicken bits with sriracha before coating, or throw some cayenne into the coating mixture. I advise serving with a side of water or milk if you do either of these :)
For the coating, I chose a blend with s&p, smoked and regular paprika, and garlic powder, but you can play around with this however you like. An Italian herb blend would also be great - basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, s&p. To up the spice a bit more, throw in some cayenne pepper. Or try an Indian inspired mix of curry powder/turmeric/cumin/garam masala. Of course you can always stick with the original that just included salt and paprika (though I'd suggest having a little more fun than that).
Kickin' chicken tenders
Inspired from Betty Crocker
Time: About 30 minutes
Level: Easy
Ingredients
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup grated cheese (I like to use Pecorino Romano)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (depending on how much heat you'd like; I used 1/2 teaspoon and would definitely up it to 1 full teaspoon next time)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Slice the chicken into half-inch strips crosswise (not lengthwise; you want shorter pieces - some will be more like nuggets, some like tenders, it's all good).
Place the Bisquick, cheese, and all spices in a large resealable plastic bag and mix together (seal up the bag and shake it all up).
Mix the egg and sriracha sauce in a small bowl.
Dip half the chicken into the egg and place in the bag. Seal the bag up and shake to coat evenly. Place the chicken on the baking sheet; repeat this step with the rest of the chicken.
Drizzle the melted butter over the chicken and bake 12-15 minutes (took 15 minutes in my gas oven). Halfway through the baking time, flip all chicken pieces over. I'd recommend cutting into the largest chicken piece to see if they're done (white throughout; no sign of pink).
Turn on the broiler (mine has several settings, I chose high) and broil for 1-2 minutes to get the tenders a little extra crispy.
I served this with sautéed zucchini and couscous (to grownup-ify the meal). The chicken was delicious dunked in Stonewall Kitchen's Country Ketchup, which even on its own packs quite a punch. Mangia!