Oven Fried Chicken Fingers and Lemon Poppy Noodles

I tried out a few new recipes on the family last night. We had to be at the baseball field by 6pm so I wanted a meal that I could do most of the work ahead of time. I made Oven "Fried" Chicken Fingers and Lemon Poppy Noodles and Peas. My children LOVE the big crunchy frozen chicken tenders, but I wanted to try to make my own version at home. I adapted a recipe from one of my favorite websites - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/. This website is so wonderful. The author is very funny and posts some amazing recipes. Her recipe calls for deep frying - which I avoid at all costs. Instead I baked the tenders on a baking sheet brushed with canola oil, then sprayed the tops with cooking spray for extra crunch.


Oven Fried Chicken Fingers
1 1/2 - 2 Pounds Chicken Tenderloins
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 T Seasoned Salt
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk - divided
A few tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Submerge chicken tenderloins in about 1 cup of buttermilk. Allow to rest for at least 20 mins. Place flour and seasoned salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of buttermilk (this will make the flour crumbly and produce the crunchy coating). Remove a few chicken strips from the buttermilk and place in the flour mixture. Turn to coat.

Spread a few tablespoons of oil onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Place the tenders on the sheet. Spray tops thoroughly with cooking spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the bottoms look browned and crunchy. Flip the tenders and bake for an additional 7-8 mins, until all sides are crunchy. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces.

*Note - tenders can be prepared through coating and stored in the refrigerator for a few hours until you are ready to bake them.

Lemon Poppy Noodles and Peas
6 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
The zest of 1 lemon
The juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen garden peas.

Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender.

Cook peas according to package. Drain when cooked.

Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain noodles in a colander. Add butter, olive oil, poppy seeds and zest to warm pot and swirl until melted. Add noodles and toss, adding enough of reserved cooking water to keep noodles moist, then stir in lemon juice, chives, peas, and salt and pepper to taste.

*Note - this dish can be prepared in advance. To warm, place in a microwave safe dish and cook on 50% power for 2-4 minutes.