Baked Chicken Fingers

I found this draft of a post from last fall.  We spent 3 months on the Big Island after a 14 day quarantine to get out of the So Cal Corona madness for a little while.  The photos above are from some of our quarantine diversions.  After those first two weeks, we were waking up early (4:45am) to do online school and work and going to bed right after sunset (before 7pm), but we made the most of all those sunny afternoons! I'm missing the island, our friends, and living in a more "open" state right now - I'm not going to lie.  

This was one of my new recipe hits that I made over and over while we were in Hawaii . . . I haven't made it since but I should make a batch for the kids' lunch while they're doing school from home next week.  It's another recipe that approximates a deep fryer and take out food while being slightly healthier.  

I would make some dipping sauces to go with them and my two best ones were ranch dressing with a few squirts of sriracha and basil pesto with a scoop of mayo.
 

Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

1/4 c. flour

1 egg

1 T water

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1.5 lbs chicken tenders 

Heat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  I like to place a cookie cooling rack on top of the cooking sheet so that the tenders are not directly on the foil because I think they cook more evenly this way.

Make one shallow dish with the flour, another shallow dish with the egg lightly beaten with the tablespoon of water, and a third shallow dish with the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese mixed together.

Coat each piece of chicken with the flour, dip in the egg mixture, and roll in the breadcrumb mixture.  Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

New Year's Resolution

Do you make a New Year's Resolution?  Usually I have a theme or intention for the year and don't make specific resolutions but this year I was inspired by Big.  She is super goal oriented and on Christmas Eve, she read me a list of about 10 of hers . . . a few of which she's already made happen (like getting her Etsy shop up and running).  I was inspired by how she read through the Bible in a year and one of my goals this year is to do the same.  21 days in and so far so good.  

One of my other goals is to make some different recipes instead of the same old standbys.  It's easy to just make the same rotation over and over so that the girls don't complain about what's for dinner, but we all need to branch out a bit and try some new things.  My initial idea is to take something they like and make a different version.  I saw a recipe for a Moroccan Tagine that looked delicious and I thought that a tagine is basically a chili (right?).   Everybody ate some of it - it was a little too spicy for Little and Big didn't like the texture and I had leftovers for days.  

I like how it has lots of flavor, lots of vegetables, and you can easily omit the cooked chicken and double the chickpeas to make it a vegetarian main dish.  I used the harissa from Trader Joe's instead of just a paste so that may be why mine was a little spicy . . . but I added even more to my dish.  I served it with naan bread and you could also serve it over rice or cous cous.

Moroccan Chickpea & Chicken Tagine (recipe from Half Baked Harvest by Tieghan Gerard).

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

1 T grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes

2 T harissa paste

2 tsp smoked paprika

3/4 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 (14 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup cooked chopped or shredded chicken

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, for serving

Instant Pot Instructions:

In the Instant Pot, combine onion, ginger, garlic, carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes, harissa, 1 cup of water, the spices and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.

Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.  Use a quick or natural release.  Open the pot and put it on saute.  Stir in lemon juice, chickpeas, chicken, and simmer on low until the protein is heated through, about 5 minutes.  Add more water to thin if needed.  Top with cilantro to serve.

Stovetop Instructions:

Heat 2 T olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion, ginger, garlic and cook until fragrant 3-5 minutes.  Add the carrots and bell pepper and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes or until the carrot is softened.  Add tomatoes, harissa, 1 cup of water, the spices, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir, cover, and cook until the tangine has thickened and is stew consistency (about 15-20 minutes).

Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice, chickpeas, and chicken and cook until the protein is heated through, about 5 minutes.  If it's too thick, add more water.  Serve with cilantro on top.