Panko-Style Baked Chicken Tenders

I love food that is terrible for you.  Boneless wings?  Corn dogs?  Chicken Nuggets?  I love them all.  Chicken nuggets were an especially guilty pleasure.  Not only did I buy them in frozen version for a quick meal at home, but I would also often go through the drive-thru at McDonald's and pick up a 4 or 6 piece chicken nugget with sweet chili sauce and apple slices for a quick meal if I didn't have time to go home.  I've mentioned before that I was totally weird as a kid with meat.  I didn't like to eat an unbreaded cut of meat unless it was a steak.  My Dad used to wonder what the heck was wrong with me, and why would I want to eat gross, breaded rib meat instead of delicious, much better for you chicken breast?  Dad, I still can't tell you what my major hang up with meats were as a kid, but I'm sure you're at least the tiniest bit comforted that I now "know what's good" and like almost all cuts of meat.

But, I still miss chicken nuggets/tenders.  I'm baking these, and the reasoning is twofold:

1.  (we'll pretend like this is paramount) It's a lot healthier to bake the tenders rather than fry them.
2.  (this is the main motivation) Frying is a pain in the butt, and it makes my house smell (and I'm lazy).

You could just as easily fry these tenders and drain them before eating.  If you're going to do that, I'd probably use about 2-3 c. of the oil of your choice (for two people) and heat to about 375, and fry in small batches about 6-8 minutes a piece til golden brown.  Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.  Serve.

But, if you're baking:

Panko-Style Baked Chicken Tenders
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
2 c. rice chex cereal
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika (you can omit if you'd like)
1 tsp. rubbed sage
1/2 tsp. Old Bay (also has paprika in it.  I used both, but it's up to you)
4 tbsp. parmesan cheese
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
2-3 chicken breasts (I had one small and one HUGE one)

1.  Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2.  Slice chicken breasts into the strips or nuggets of your choosing.  You can pound them to 1/4" thickness if you'd like.  If you want to do that, you can put them between two pieces of saran wrap and pound with a mallet.

3.  In the mixer of your food processor, place rice chex, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, rubbed sage, Old Bay, and parmesan cheese.

4.  Pulse the food processor until you have a coarse, crunchy looking "bread crumb" mixture.

5.  In a bowl, combine 2 eggs and 2 tbsp milk

6.  In another shallow bowl or plate, jujh up 1/3 c. flour (I used the Namaste All Purpose blend I've mentioned in earlier posts)

7.  In a third shallow bowl or plate, pour panko-style mixture.

8.  Dredge tenders in flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumb mixture, before placing in a single layer on a foil-lined cooking sprayed tray or sheet pan.

9.  Bake in 475 degree oven for approximately 20-25 minutes until browned.  I checked mine about 15 minutes into the cooking and flipped them.

10.  Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving with your favorite condiments.

Served with cottage fries and green beans.  Crispy and a little spicy, just how I like them!