It only seems like yesterday we were adjusting the spices in recipes so that they were more palatable for the boys to eat. Now, they tell us things aren't hot enough ( I think this has to do with age more than actual taste 😉).
When I saw this recipe, I knew it would be a hit. What I didn't expect was for it to be as good as it was! We all thought this was just as good, if not better, than a casual dining restaurant. The flavors are all there, without the breading or greasiness.
These tenders come together quickly, which is great for a weeknight meal. I did not have chicken tenders so cut up chicken breasts. I would not make that mistake again. The chicken breast strips started to fall apart a bit, so while the taste was there, it would have been better to have intact chicken tenders. I had help from Younger making these. He did the entire prep except for cutting up chicken breasts.
Today is a two-fer as I am also including a link to our FAVORITE Blue Cheese Dressing. The Blue Cheese dressing is a must when serving these tenders.
Younger's Thoughts: The sauce is excellent! You should just add a lot more sauce then recipe calls for.
Buffalo Chicken Tenders
1¼ pounds chicken tenders
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 Tablespoons butter
5oz bottle Louisiana-style hot sauce, we used Franks
2½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Blue Cheese Dressing
Mix the hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and garlic powder.
Toss chicken with flour and pepper (I do this in a plastic, zip-top bag). In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add half the chicken; cook until no longer pink, 4-6 minutes per side. Remove from pan. Repeat with remaining chicken and 1 Tablespoon butter.
In the same skillet, melt remaining butter; stir in hot sauce mixture. Add chicken; heat through, turning pieces to coat.
This is our absolute FAVORITE Blue Cheese Dressing. It is quick and easy to make. It is creamy and chunky.
I make this in a pint jar and shake to mix. I use these plastic lids when I make salad dressings.
Blue Cheese Dressing
2½ ounces blue cheese
5 Tablespoons buttermilk
3 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
In a pint jar, mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large-curd cottage cheese. Add remaining ingredients, put lid on jar, shake until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
This has become one of our favorite vegetables to serve with dinner. Roasting in the oven caramelizes the broccoli, giving a slightly nutty flavor and brown color on the pieces touching the pan. It takes longer for the oven to heat up then to get it ready to put it in.
The Hubs chopped up the broccoli for this batch, so I used fresh. Usually I grab a couple of bags of florets out of the freezer, and it is SO good! I roast it on a jelly roll pan and the four us usually take care of the whole thing at one sitting. When I use frozen, I do not thaw before baking.
Oven Roasted Broccoli
1 large head of broccoli or 2- 10oz bags frozen florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste OR 1 teaspoon FishMama Spice
Preheat oven to 425º
Mix broccoli and olive oil on sheet pan. Sprinkle with seasoning. Bake 25-30 minutes.
I admit that I have a major sweet tooth. If it weren't for the Hubs checking and double checking most recipes I make, I would not even bat an eye about the sugar content in a recipe. I joke he is the healthiest person I know. Actually, it is not a joke, he is. I was thumbing though one of my favorite cookbooks, Run Fast Eat Slow, and spotted this recipe. The Hubs jokes that what I call quick breads are really cakes. It only has a 1/4 cup of sugar, so it quickly got put on the menu.
The Younger said he would like to make this recipe, so off we went.
We only had two ripe bananas on the counter, so we went to the freezer. I assume everyone has a bag of these, right?
I have found that peeling, and halving ripe bananas makes it easier for smoothies, whatnot. Today, it was banana bread.
Younger put this bread together quick as a wink. I enjoyed that he did EVERYTHING by himself. Because this recipe has only 1/4 cup sugar, your bananas need to be very, very ripe.
This bread is really quite nice. I know we will definitely be making it again because it is healthy and tastes good. You can tell it is made with whole grains and low sugar, in a good way. As I am writing this post, the loaf is pretty much devoured. Hubs and I liked it best when it had a light smear of butter. We did not use the optional walnuts as we have a tree nut allergy in the house, but they would be a delicious addition. Next time I will make sure to add the optional date pieces or golden raisins.
Younger's Thoughts:
It is very moist and the spelt flour adds a distinct taste that makes it better then it would be with regular wheat flour. The coconut sugar boosts it even more, even though there is only 1/4 cup of it! Overall, it is very delicious but I would recommend doubling the banana because the banana is overpowered by the flour.
Spelt Banana Bread - Run Fast Eat Slow
1 1/2 cups spelt flour - I had to buy online
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup coconut sugar or other granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (3 or 4 VERY ripe, brown speckled bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup date pieces or golden raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 º. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on low until combined. Add the eggs, beat one minute. Add the bananas and vanilla and mix until combined,
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in walnuts and dried fruit if using.
Pour into loaf pan and bake, 50-60 minutes, until top is golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and cool completely prior to slicing.
I decided to start this blog because I wanted to chronicle the cooking I do with my boys, Older and Younger. Older is 12 years old, and Younger is 10.I enjoy cooking and even more so when I have one of my boys helping me out.
This past summer, they started learning how to cook. They took turns cooking the family dinner, once, every other week. For the most part, it was very successful. Their confidence in the kitchen sky rocketed. I noticed some recipes needed more explaining then what the cook books provided, so here we are!
Thank you for being a part of our journey.
