AT THE WATER’S EDGE:

This is one of those recipes that I tend to change up a little bit every time. I had always wanted to make my own chicken nuggets, strips, tenders, or whatever you want to call them, and tried out a few different methods. I’ve found that pan-cooking them seems to yield the best results, and I’ll outline the basic recipe for you below, which is what I used to make chicken tenders last week. 

Ingredients: 
1 Boneless, skinless chicken breast 
1 cup dry bread crumbs (plain) 
1 egg 
½ cup of milk 
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 
Garlic 
Salt 
Pepper 
Spices to taste 



Directions: 
Cut the chicken into thin strips or small, nugget-sized pieces. Whisk egg and milk together in a small bowl (if you want spicy tenders, use Frank’s Red Hot sauce instead of milk). In another small bowl, mix bread crumbs and seasonings to taste. I also like to add in paprika, Italian seasoning and a little bit of some cayenne pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture to coat, then place in the breadcrumbs and use a spoon to fully coat. Sometimes I do two coats of breading…so I dip it back in the egg and then back in the breading a second time. You can also do the first coat with flour. The double-coating helps it stick better while cooking. Once chicken is coated, place it in the skillet. Cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, carefully turning over each piece occasionally. You may need to add a little extra oil as you go, too, to be sure that the tenders don’t burn or stick to the pan. 


I like to serve these with a side of rice and a veggie. This time, I was extra excited because I had some new basmati rice – which I must digress a bit here to tell you about. If you have never had basmati rice, I highly recommend trying it. It’s a long-grain rice, available in white or brown, that is fragrant and not sticky like normal white rice. I’m telling you: once you try it, you won’t go back. There’s one problem, though. Basmati rice is freaking expensive—compared to regular rice, anyways! I just double-checked pricing from my local grocery store, and the cheapest I can get it for is $4.99-$5.99 for a 2-lb bag. 

Enter: the Costco Membership. A few years ago, we had a membership to Costco, but we eventually let it expire. It was at Costco that I first discovered basmati rice. I only bought it because I was cooking rice a lot at the time (hey, I was a poor college student!), and it came cheap and in BULK: a 20lb bag of basmati rice in a burlap sack that told me my new found love came from the “foothills of the Himalayas.” Since we canceled our membership, I’ve been lamenting the loss of my rice in a burlap sack. However, this past Christmas, Tom got me a new stainless steel cookware set from Costco and got a membership to avoid paying extra fees for it. Score! So, the other day we went to Costco for the first time in a few years, and lo and behold, I found my basmati rice. I think it’s a different brand than last time; the bag is not nearly as cool. But, $14 for 20lb sure sounded like a heck of a deal! 


 At any rate, the basmati rice pairs well with the chicken tenders, and I decided to go for a side of broccoli. I realized that I still had some broccoli in the freezer that came from my summer garden. I hadn’t actually tried using any of the frozen broccoli yet, so I was very curious how it would turn out. 


 It took a little while in the steamer for the broccoli/ice chunk to thaw, but once it did, it cooked quickly and it turned out way better than I imagined! It tasted so fresh! Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to do broccoli in my garden again this year. At least not without some more research first. They tend to get these caterpillar/worms that are really hard to find & get out. Yuck. Extra protein, anyone? Don’t be too grossed out, though. I was very careful to inspect this broccoli as I was blanching and prepping to freeze it. I think we were in the clear. 


 Well that’s it for this week’s (er..last week’s?) adventures in Dana’s kitchen!