April 5, 2009

Jen's Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders

We have been really busy this weekend with errands and chores. I am going to keep this post short and sweet, so I can get back to work. Originally, I had a new recipe planned, but it got bumped back because I needed something easy and familiar for tonight's meal. The last thing I want to do after cleaning the house and doing laundry all day, is prepare a complicated dinner!

This is a variation on my recipe for Baked Buffalo Chicken Legs. I am all out of legs, so I am going to amend my original recipe to just use some chicken tenders instead. I think we are just going to have some roasted asparagus and baked tater tots to go our chicken. Overall, this is an easy dish to put together, and it is always a crowd-pleaser.

Jen's Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
2 packages of chicken tenders (approx. 16 pieces)
1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 egg, beaten
2 Tablespoon of milk
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tablespoons of melted butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup of Louisiana Hot Sauce (mix with Tapito Hot Sauce for extra spicy)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 1-2 cookie/cooling rack(s) on cookie sheet and spray rack(s) with cooking spray. Set aside.
2) Combine breadcrumbs, onion power, garlic powder, paprika, parsley flakes, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper into a bowl.
3) In a separate small bowl beat eggs with milk.
4) Dip chicken pieces separately into egg mixture, then dredge into breadcrumb mixture, coating thoroughly. Repeat process so each piece is double coated. Set breadcrumb coated chicken aside on cookie sheet racks. Spray pieces with small amount of cooking spray.
5) Bake chicken for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees (or until chicken is no longer pink in center).
6) While chicken is baking combine melted butter with hot sauce into a large bowl.
7) Once chicken is finished, dip each chicken piece into hot sauce mixture and coat thoroughly. Repeat with all chicken piece.
8) Serve immediately with ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing for dipping.



The Result:
This was the first time I tried this recipe with chicken tenders, and it came out just as good as the original! It was so yummy! I would totally make this version again. Another first this time, was that I made my own ranch dipping sauce (recipe below). Again, the ranch dip came out perfectly...thick and creamy with the right amount of ranch tanginess. Yum, yum, yum!

Ranch Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of mayo
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 package of dry ranch seasoning
splash of milk
small pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes in the fridge so it may thicken to proper consistency.

2 comments:

rebekah said...

these are good as sandwiches, too, if you drizzle your ranch sauce on them and put them in a bun with lettuce and tomato ... :)

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