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HERB CRUSTED CHICKEN TENDERS WITH HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE

(and a quick Mac and Cheese because we’re going off the rails here. Join me on the fat side of life!)
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Ingredients
  

Ingredients for Chicken Fingers:

  • 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups fine breadcrumbs
  • a few springs of thyme leaves trimmed
  • a few springs of rosemary leaves trimmed and chopped
  • a small handful of parsley chopped
  • 1 garlic clove peeled and minced
  • a dash of red pepper flakes
  • 1/3 cup of regular mustard
  • 1/3 cup of Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • salt and pepper
  • cooking spray or olive oil to coat a baking sheet

Ingredients for the Mac n Cheese:

  • 1 package of macaroni
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1 cup sour cream full fat please… as if I have to say that at this point
  • 1 cup sharp orange cheddar grated
  • 1 cup sharp white aged cheddar grated
  • 1 cup fontina grated (jack cheese works well here, too, if you want it to be a little zesty. Or parmigiano reggiano if you feel like being fancy. Basically do whatever you want.)
  • 1/3 cup fine breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • some butter, olive oil, or cooking spray to coat a baking sheet

Instructions
 

  • If you’re doing this all at once, good news! The oven goes on at 400F for everything.
  • Heat a large pot of water over high to boil for the macaroni.
  • Set up three shallow dishes for breading the chicken. Place the flour in one, breaking up any lumps with a fork. Beat the egg in the second dish with a generous splash of water. And in the third dish, stir together all the herbs, the garlic, the breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Next, trim the chicken breasts into strips/fingers—don’t worry about them looking perfect, as long as they’re roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Set up a baking or cookie sheet and spray with some nonstick spray or coat it with some olive oil so the fingers don’t stick. Dredge the fingers in the flour, shaking off any excess, next coat in the egg, and then in the breadcrumbs mixture until coated evenly and nicely. Place on the baking sheet in an even single layer. These will bake for about 35 minutes, flipping once in between. Don’t overcook them or you’ll end up with chicken finger hockey pucks and start crying.
  • While the chicken does its thing, make the dipping sauce. Mix both kinds of mustard, the honey, and season with salt and pepper. You’re done.
  • Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Get a 9×12 casserole dish and grease it nicely with the cooking spray or butter or olive oil. Get a large mixing bowl and mix the cooked macaroni, the milk, sour cream, eggs, and half of each kind of cheese. Pour into the casserole dish and top with the remaining cheese (yes, all of it, don’t be such a buzzkill) and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes and rest ten minutes before cutting into it. Quick note: if it looks like a lot of liquid in with the pasta before you bake it, don’t worry. I find a wetter macaroni is better because it’ll prevent a dry macaroni and cheese when it finishes baking, which will also make you cry.

Notes

*if you don’t have access to fresh herbs, who cares? A blend of dried spices works well, too, like herbs de provence which you can find in any grocery store, and also works great on a roasted chicken or turkey
 
THIS SERVES 1 PREGNANT LADY or a family of 4.