Homemade Chicken Tenders

I have a confession. I've been buying dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets for months. Dino-nugs we call them. Good ole dino nugs are the only way I can get meat products into my two year old's mouth. She swears they are the same Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, and Dawn from Dinosaur Train! She screams if I try to put a regular shaped chicken tender/nugget near her face. Somehow, I came up with a remarkable solution to re-name chicken tenders "homemade dino-nugs". She TOTALLY goes for it! Who knew all I had to do was come up with a catchy name? I give her the really tiny "baby" ones. We pretend they're baby dinos.

Chicken Tenders

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place a large metal rack on top of a baking sheet.

Carve any fat or tendons off of the chicken breasts. Place one chicken breast in between two large sheets of plastic wrap. Using a kitchen mallet or other heavy object, pound the chicken breast to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness. Repeat with the other chicken breast. Going against the grain (i.e. across the short part of the chicken breast rather than the long part) cut strips of chicken.

In a medium bowl whisk together the milk, dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Place the chicken strips in the milk mixture to marinate while you prepare the breadcrumbs. In a second bowl mix together the breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Shake off a chicken strip, dredge to coat in the breadcrumb mixture, and lay flat on the metal rack. Repeat with remaining strips.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through and slightly golden. Serve with dipping sauce, ketchup, or as is.

Light Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup low fat sour cream
2 tbl milk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
pinch cayenne pepper
1 chopped chive or green onion
salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl mix together all ingredients until combined. Serve as a dipping sauce with chicken tenders and vegetables.