Baked Corn Flake Chicken Fingers

Baked Corn Flake Chicken Fingers... I was never one of those kids that was particularly interested in kid food. Chicken fingers, PB&J sandwiches, ketchup. - none of these foods enticed me. When I came home and wanted a snack I insisted on my mom making homemade fried mozzarella (yes I had her slice hunks of mozzarella  dip them in egg wash and Italian bread crumbs and fry them over the stove). When I was in middle school and I brought my lunch everyday I refused to bring a turkey sandwich like most kids, instead my mom made sure we always had plenty of leftovers (even enough for my two best friends as well) to eat a hot meal at lunch. So you can imagine my own surprise with myself when I was interested in making chicken fingers at home. I happened to read a recipe that sparked some interest and when I found myself in the check out line with a package of raw chicken tenders and a box of TJs corn flakes I knew I would have to follow through. And so my healthier adult version of a kiddie meal was born.

On the Menu:
Baked Corn Flake Chicken Fingers w/ Roasted Brussels Sprouts

The Chicken:
Usually if you fry chicken or add a breading it is a good idea to use an egg wash or marinate the meat in buttermilk. I saw somewhere that it was suggested to use Greek Yogurt instead, so I went for it. On Monday night as I was cleaning up after dinner I prepped just a bit for Tuesdays meal by placing the chicken tenders in a large glass bowl with about a cup of plain Greek yogurt and a liberal shaking of paprika. I covered it with saran wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Then once I was ready to crust the little chickies I removed them from the fridge and dredged them one by one in the corn flakes. For this mix I put a ton of cornflakes in a Ziploc bag and crushed them by hand until they were the size I wanted, then I put them on a plate and tossed them with some salt and pepper and voila! Once the tenders were coated I put them in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes.

Pre Bake

The Brussels:

I just cut them in half and drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and placed them in the oven at 425 for 40 minutes. I did this as I was prepping the chicken and so I took the Brussels out and put the tenders right in.

Pre Roast

Post Roast

BBQ Sauce, Honey Mustard, Ketchup

Dahlish!

The meal was yummy and different! I used 3 sauces: 1) TJ's BBQ, 2) My own mixture of spicy brown mustard and a squeeze of honey, 3) Ketchup.

It was easy and fun to try! My challenge to all of you is to come up with a "kiddie" food you either LOVED in childhood or perhaps you've only come to enjoy as an adult, and create your own spin on it. It's fun to see what you can come up with! Hope yall are having a Dahlicious week.