Cooking Not with a Pro

Bonjour.
So.. I couldn't think of anything to blog about. I have like 8 draft blogs where I started and then failed to finish. Maybe eventually they'll get posted. But unlikely.
Anyways.. I had this idea to blog about making something. Like a step by step tutorial. Cause don't you love it when you find a tutorial that's super easy to understand AND they have awesome pictures?? I know I do.
So I tried. But then the first two things I tried demonstrating... well they kind of flopped. Don't ask questions- they just completely bombed.

Then as I was starting to make dinner this evening.. I just brought out my camera and took pictures at each step. It worked out pretty well! It looked a little EH at the end.. but it tasted good. So don't let looks deceive you. It was delish.

For this food blog post, I will be showing you how to make supah good Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders. YUM.
It's pretty easy to make. So don't fret.
One thing I will say...actually 2 things. Two things to change about this... which I'm learning from experience SO work with me!
Marinate the chicken for as long as you can. AND BAKE IT. We fried it.. and it was good. But I know it'll be so much better baked. Ok now onto it.
PS)- I will post the recipe at the end of this... just in case you can't help but follow in my footsteps and try this!
Here we go:

Ingredients:

- chicken breasts ( Up to you how many- depending how many you are feeding!)
- 1 cup  mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4  mustard
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups bread crumbs

Here are step by step instructions ( but I'll sum it up in the end!)

These are your ingredients for your sweet goodness sauce. Believe me, it tastes better than regular honey mustard AND its better for you. Besides mayo.. gah. who likes mayo? Gross. But I used it reluctantly.

Throw all your ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Or large.. depending on how you're feeling. 

And don't actually throw them; that would be called food fighting and in some countries is highly frowned upon. 

So yeah, next part, pretty much self explanatory. MIX EM UP. Mix mix mix. Mix till your arms fall off. 

But then (which is not pictured. I didn't think to picture every step. Come on people...)

half the sauce into another smaller bowl; put dat in the fridge. Then put the other bowl aside- we shall use that soon to marinate your chicken.

Now for the chicken. I used one chicken breast, just because there's only two of us. 

But clean that sucker off good. No fattiness allowed. Cut cut cut. 

Then from there... cut your chicken into strips. They should be about 1/2 inches thick. We had about 6 strips.  

Then coat your strips in your bowl of sauce that you set aside. This gets a little messy but I have confidence in you. You can do this! I coated them and then flung them into a ziplock bag. Then I scooped what sauce I had leftover and spooned it in the bag as well. 

Make sure they're coated real good. 

From there stick them in the fridge to marinate. This is one part where I messed up a little.

I put them in for about 40 minutes. I say if you have the time.. prepare this earlier.. or even the night before, so your chicken has a good time to suck up that honey sweetness. 

So yeah anywhere from an hour to over night would be grand. 

While you're waiting, do something productive. I played with the pup. And called my Momma. 

Life's too short to do nothing. So do something! 

And with that, we'll continue on. Your chicken calls you.

Take your bread crumbs and pour them into a bowl. Strip by strip, cover your chicken in them. 

Try not to scrape off any of the sauce... that's where all the yumminess is. Don't want to lose any of that. 

Now into the frying pan. This is what I did, but I'll also tell you later another way to cook them... heat up a little veggie oil in a pan on medium/high heat. Lay your breaded strips in and be careful- it can get a little painful when the oil gets crazy. Don't lose an eye or anything. I don't want to be sued for you losing an eyeball. 

Wait until they become deliciously golden, then flip. Cause both sides have to be equal- DUH. 

I realized using tongs are the best way to flip. My husband said to use a spatula.... but that is why wives do not listen to their husbands while cooking. 

When both sides are equally gorgeous (which mine didn't turn out gorgeous. Like at all. .... but as  I said- work with me!) place them on a plate with paper towels. Let them cool a little bit. Don't get impatient... you're almost there. 

Then set the table! Of course... I now realize this is the ONE night we used paper plates. The one night I decided to photograph our food. 

It was my husband. I distinctly remember him saying "We can just use paper plates for this meal."

Way to go Jonathan. 

So it could've looked a ton prettier. 

You can now take out your extra sauce you put in the fridge; that's to dip! And believe me... you'll use every inch of it. And then you'll probably lick the bowl. It's acceptable for this meal. 

As you can see, french fries are the perfect side for this meal. Who doesn't have french fries with their chicken tenders?? 

And there you have it. 

It's a rough blog... but its my first food one. I'll get better! I'm by far not a pro.. maybe not even an amateur?  

Only being married 2 months I guess makes me a beginner.. but my husband says I haven't made a bad meal yet. In other words, I'm awesome. Yeah, I think that's what he meant. 

Maybe next time I'll make a delightful dessert. That'll look more appetizing.. 

And I won't use paper plates. 

Here are more detailed instructions... pay close attention to the baking part. Cause that's where the magic is. Not really.. But I feel it'll help your cooking experience mucho more. 

Happy cooking, and I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthly blog. 

Until next time... enjoy life. 

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, garlic powder, and paprika. Stir until everything is evenly combined then taste and season with salt to your liking. Divide the sauce into two portions. Half will be the marinade and half will be the dipping sauce – it MUST stay separate. Keep the sauce refrigerated until ready to use.
2. Trim the chicken breasts of excess fat and slice diagonally into ½ inch thick strips. You should get about 14-16 strips total. Place the sliced chicken in a bag or bowl with half of the honey mustard sauce and stir to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or over night.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a dredging station by lining a large baking sheet with foil and then placing two wire cooling racks on top. The wire racks keep the strips lifted as they bake so that the bottoms will crisp too. Coat the wire racks with non-stick spray. Pour the bread crumbs into a wide, shallow bowl.
4. One by one, coat the chicken strips with bread crumbs. Do not wipe off excess honey mustard sauce before coating with crumbs, the sauce helps it adhere. Place the strips on the wire rack as you bread them. Continue until all of the strips are coated with bread crumbs. Discard the leftover honey mustard sauce that the chicken was marinating in.
5. Bake the chicken strips in the oven until the crumbs have turned golden brown (about 30 minutes). To Fry: Alternatively, heat about ½ inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the surface of the oil looks wavy. Fry a few strips at a time on each side until they are golden brown and crispy. Drain on a plate covered with paper towels.
6. Serve warm with the reserved half of the honey mustard sauce.

Go on.. you know you want to try it. Just give in to the honey sweetness. 

Adios.