No I'm not dead, I'm making chicken fingers.......

I'm alive. Sorry I've been so neglectful of this blog, I promise to bring you more tasty goodness, just stick with me here. I also apologize for this pretty crappy pics I am posting today. My apartment did have much natural light and my pictures came out a bit blurry. What can I say? I'm a work in progress.

Now that that's out of the way........Last night I had a craving for chicken fingers. Crunchy, moist, tasty, chicken fingers slathered in honey mustard. The Pioneer Woman has a post on her blog I've been wanting to try for a long time so I gave them a go, adding my own touches of course. I just can't leave anything alone. She has a step by step photo instruction, you should check it out.    She's my blog idol.

In her recipe she starts with just buttermilk, I seasoned mine and let my chicken go for a longer time in their buttermilk bath. Glad I did, these babies were moist and so full of flavor. Now this may not be the healthiest of dinners, but life is short, I'd rather enjoy it eating what I like.

My GP's went crazy over these. I used 1/4 cup of buttermilk because my little ones don't like when chicken fingers are too crunchy. I also cut my honey mustard with regular mustard to keep the heat low. My kids are not chili heads. If you prefer more heat use all whole grain dijon mustard.

Oh and I'm sorry about my awful plating, and about the honey mustard not being in the picture with the chicken, but I'm lucky I got a picture period. I poured my sauce in the pitcher took a quick photo in case something happened to it. Glad I did. As I finished frying up the strips, fed the GP's and turned around to plate my fingers for the picture, half my sauce was gone. Oh well, I can't be upset, I guess they really like it and that is the point right?

Homemade Chicken Strips

2 lbs Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Strips (sometimes Called "tenders" Or "strips")
1 cup Buttermilk
2 tablespoon dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, smashed so you can remove them easily
2 teaspoons hot sauce, I use Crystal use whatcha like
1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons (to 3 Teaspoons) Lawry's Seasoning Salt (or Spices Of Your Choosing) *I choose my own, 2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp salt, fresh ground black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder*
Vegetable Oil
Honey Mustard Sauce
1 cup good mayo (I always use Hellman's)
1/4 cup of honey
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 tablespoons whole grain course ground mustard (or more to taste depending on how hot you want it. Feel free to use spicy brown, dijon, or even sweet hot mustard)



Peel and smash garlic cloves, add them in a bowl large enough to submerge the chicken strips in. Add buttermilk, dijon, and hot sauce, stir and add chicken. Cover chicken and pop in the frig for a few hours. I let mine go 4 hours, you could even leave them overnight for more flavor. Pioneer Woman leaves her's in plain buttermilk for 15-20 minutes. Do watcha like.


In another bowl combine about 1 ½ cups flour and 2 to 3 teaspoons of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt (or other seasonings if you prefer). Mix this together well. Next, add about ¼ to ½ cup of buttermilk into the flour mixture and stir lightly with a fork as you add it. I used 1/4 because I didn't want them to crunchy.

Heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat.

Remove a few of the buttermilk-soaked strips and place them in the flour mixture, turning them over to coat them thoroughly. Place them on a plate. Continue coating chicken strips until they are all ready to cook.  Leave those garlic cloves behind.  They were just for flavor.

When the oil is sufficiently heated, begin cooking the strips a few at a time. Cook them for about a minute and a half or so on each side. When golden and crispy, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate. *I removed them to a rack set over paper towels so they didn't get soggy bottom. No one likes a soggy bottom. Oh and sprinkle those babies with a bit of salt as soon as they come out of the hot oil. Serve with your favorite sauce. Mine is honey mustard and here is how you make it:


Combine mayo, mustard, and honey, mix well and use right away or put it in a covered container and pop it in the frig.  Simple right?


Now..........