Coconut Chicken Tenders with Apricot Dipping Sauce

I made these in the hopes of finding a new chicken recipe my daughter Maddie would like. Knowing that she loves chicken nuggets, but not knowing how she felt about coconut, I figured I had a 50/50 chance with these. Turns out the girl likes coconut and loved these! Score one for me...and I needed one, believe me. Lately it feels like that little nose has been in the locked and upright position come dinner time. Which makes me wonder, does turning your nose up and looking down your nose mean the same thing? I think Maddie has been doing both lately just to cover her bases.

COCONUT CHICKEN TENDERS

Yield: 8 servings

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (or canola oil)

8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless

2 eggs

½ cup coconut milk

1-2 dashes Tabasco (to taste)

1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon fine salt

skewers for serving (optional)

1.      Preheat oven to 400º F. Grease a baking sheet with coconut oil.

2.      Slice each chicken thigh into 3 or 4 long pieces (chicken tenders).

3.      Whisk together the eggs, coconut milk and Tabasco.

4.      Ina separate bowl, mix together the shredded coconut, panko and salt.

5.      Dredge the chicken tenders in the egg mixture, then in coconut/panko mixture.

6.      Arrange on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

adapted from recipes.sparkpeople.com (submitted by WANTS2B1HOTMAMA)

chicken thighs

cut into strips

dipping in egg mixture

dipping in coconut/bread crumb mixture

coated and ready to bake

coconut chicken tenders

APRICOT DIPPING SAUCE

Makes about 2 cups

1 3/4 cups apricot jam

2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste

3 tablespoons finely chopped scallion greens

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, or to taste

dash of Tabasco, or to taste

Melt jam in a small saucepan.Stir in remaining ingredients with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm. Can may be made 2 days ahead, cooled, then chilled, covered. Reheat over low heat, stirring.

from Gourmet

scallions and lime

everything mixed

My apricot preserves had chunks of apricot in it,
which I didn't bother straining (I just avoided
the chunks when dipping).

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Chicken Parmesan

I'm assuming most of you carnivores have had chicken parmesan by now (probably lots of it). So what makes a good chicken parm? In my opinion, the responsibility lies mostly with the sauce. I guess that's true for a lot of Italian dishes. If you have a great marinara recipe, you're halfway there. The other thing I suggest is a nice buffalo mozzarella if you can find it. In my opinion, the flavor is superior to cow's milk mozzarella (it's just more robust) and super creamy. Topping the whole thing off with fresh basil really seals the deal.

CHICKEN PARMESAN

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

3 cups homemade marinara sauce

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed

1 cup plain dried bread crumbs

4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds)

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 (8 oz.) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, water drained and grated

freshly grated parmesan

1/4 bunch fresh basil leaves, torn

1.      Preheat oven to 450º F.

2.      Place the flour on a plate or in a shallow pan and season with salt and pepper; mix to combine. Place the bread crumbs on a plate or in a shallow pan and season with salt and pepper; mix to combine. In a shallow pan or wide bowl, whisk together the eggs and water.

3.      Place the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/2-inch thick.

4.      Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour. Dip in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs.

5.      When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.

6.      Ladle the tomato sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, parmesan, and basil. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with spaghetti.

adapted from Tyler Florence

pounding the chicken

dredging in flour

dipping in egg

coated in bread crumbs

golden and crusty

grated buffalo mozzarella

It's so creamy, it mostly just falls apart.

sauced

sprinkled with cheeses

topped with basil

If you don't like the look of the basil on top,
you can always put it on before the cheese.

chicken parmesan

My cat Pierre was in this position the entire time I was
cooking. Clearly he's super thoughtful and trying to save me
money on costly kitty chiropractor bills by aligning his own spine.

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Spicy Maple Mayonnaise (on Chicken & Waffle Sandwiches)

I came across a recipe for chicken & waffle sandwiches that looked fantastic. Only I didn't have time to make the fried chicken from scratch and I had some fancy waffle mix burning a whole in my kitchen cabinet, so I cheated and took shortcuts. I used Bell & Evans chicken tenders and the aforementioned waffle mix and proceeded to follow the rest of the original recipe. The only part I made from scratch was this spicy maple mayonnaise, which I recommend trying. It was scrumptious and I'm sure it taste great on all kinds of sandwiches.
 

SPICY MAPLE MAYONNAISE

Yield: 1 ¼ cups

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon horseradish
dash or two of hot sauce (such as tabasco)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Can be made 1-2 days ahead.

barely adapted from foodnetwork.com by Julie Ohnstad, Atlanta, GA

all the ingredients

spicy maple mayonnaise

CHICKEN & WAFFLE SANDWICHES FOR CHEATERS & SHORTCUT TAKERS

Yield: 4 servings

8 waffles, kept warm

12 slices applewood smoked bacon, cooked until crispy and drained

12 Bell & Evans breaded chicken breast tenders, cooked according to package directions

8 slices sharp cheddar

Spicy Maple Mayonnaise (recipe above)

1.      Preheat broiler.

2.      Lay 4 waffle halves on a sheetpan. Top each with 3 chicken tenders, 3 slices bacon and 2 slices cheddar.

3.      Broil the sandwiches just until the cheese melts (careful, it doesn’t take long).

4.      Spread about 3 tablespoons spicy maple mayonnaise on the top waffle and place on the sandwich.

waffles

chicken tenders

bacon

cheddar

melted

spicy maple mayonnaise on waffle

chicken & waffle sandwich

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