Bacon-Cheddar Chicken Tenders

Kids love chicken nuggets or chicken tenders, but how about adults?  Do you love them, too?  I know I do, yet I hardly ever think to make them.   With the laid-back holiday weekend just past, I wasn’t doing any heavy-duty cooking.   I just wanted to eat foods that were easy, and able to lend themselves to a picnic on the back porch.   No fancy serving dishes, or china plates with this meal.

So with a package of boneless chicken breasts on hand,  I cut them into “fingers” and came up with this way of cooking them in the oven that resulted in crispy cheesy chicken dippers that were so easy to make and seriously delicious to eat.  These are friendly to kids and adults alike.  They can be used for snacking or as the basis for a whole meal, as I did here.  They were served with my mashed potato salad, celery and carrot sticks and ranch dressing to dip them in.  Mr. D. thought they were wonderful, and claimed the left-overs for his lunch this week.   What was the perfect dessert with this meal?   Brownie sundaes, of course 🙂

BACON-CHEDDAR CHICKEN TENDERS

Yield:   4 servings

Ingredients:

Line up pans in the order chicken will be dipped.

• non-stick pan spray
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain panko crispy bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese, about 2 oz.
• 1 (3-0z.) jar cooked real bacon bits
• 1 pkg. uncooked chicken tenders, or skinless, boneless breasts, cut into strips
• Ranch dressing for dipping, or make a chive and sour cream sauce, or
• For sauce with a kick to it, try equal amounts mayo and sour cream plus add some sriracha sauce to it.

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 400*F.  Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2.  In a shallow foil pan or bowl, place the flour;  in another similar pan or bowl, place the egg.  With a wire whisk, lightly beat the egg with 1-2 teaspoons of water.

3.  In another deeper container, place the panko crumbs, cheese and bacon bits.

Panko, bacon, cheese mixure.

Dip the chicken first into the flour to coat, then the egg, and then into the crumb mixture, turning to cover all sides.  Place chicken on the cookie sheet.

4.  Bake 15 – 20 minutes, turning once, until chicken is no longer pink in center and bread crumbs are golden brown.  Serve with dipping sauce.

SOURCE:  A major adaptation of a recipe from Pillsbury