Cooking with the Kids: Ellie Krieger's Crispy Chicken Fingers

We all know that kids LOVE chicken nuggets. The trouble is we don't really know what is in them, do we? I love to cook with my kids, but with my son's allergies it can be quite difficult. When I received my copy of The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger, this was the first recipe that caught my eye. The reason is simple: healthy chicken fingers that even my little guy can eat!! Pretty exciting stuff. Jackson is allergic to many things, but his allergy to eggs and flour can be the most challenging. The great thing about Ellie's chicken fingers is that she marinates the chicken in buttermilk, which makes them incredibly tender, and then coats them in crushed whole-grain cereal, like Corn Chex. Hooray for Corn Chex because it is actually one of Jackson's favorite snacks on the planet! I knew that Jackson would be thrilled to arm himself with my rolling pin and whack the heck out of the Corn Chex. Jackson specializes in destruction and this project was right up his alley! I can honestly say that he really made dust out of those corn chex. I was happy for him.

Crispy Chicken Fingers with Honey-Mustard Sauce
Recipe adapted from The Food You Crave, but also found online HERE
1-1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut across into 1/2" slices
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
Cooking Spray
4 cups whole-grain corn cereal such as Corn Chex or corn flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Honey-Mustard Sauce (recipe follows)
Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine the chicken and buttermilk in a shallow dish, turning the chicken to coat it with the buttermilk. Cover and chill for 15 minutes. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.
Put the cereal in a sealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow dish and season them with the salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in the cereal to fully coat and arrage on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Leave the chicken on the baking sheets to cool slightly It will become crisper. Serve with the mustard sauce on the side.

Honey-Mustard Sauce
1/3 cup Dijon Mustard
2 teaspoons Mayo
2 tablespoons honey
In a small bowl, stir together the mustard and mayo until smooth. Stir in the honey.

Notes/Results: This is a fantastic recipe. If you have children or grandchildren who love chicken nuggets then this is a recipe you must try! My son loved crushing the corn chex and could hardly wait to try the chicken fingers. The chicken fingers were easy and I couldn't believe how tender the buttermilk had made the chicken. The Corn Chex made a wonderful crispy coating. Once again, Ellie's measurements were perfect! Everything measured out perfectly, with no wasted buttermilk marinade or wasted corn chex crumbs. I really like how Ellie's recipes are so perfectly measured out. In fact, I can't quite say enough about it! I do want to note that I adapted the recipe slightly by breading the chicken and then letting it "dry out" in the refrigerator for ten minutes. This is a trick I learned from Tyler Florence who says that this ten minute "drying out" method makes for a much crispier coating. This recipe makes about 40 chicken fingers, which is plenty to feed the whole family and still have leftovers. I highly recommend these crispy chicken fingers. They were a hit on all accounts!!

Crispy Chicken Fingers: Serves 4 - Serving Size 10 chicken fingers (You won't be able to eat them all) 262 calories, 2g fat, 35g protein, 23g carb, .5g fiber

Honey-Mustard Sauce: Serves 5 - Serving Size 2 Tablespoons
97 calories, 3g fat, 1g protein, 19g carbs