Crunchy Oven-Baked Chicken Toes!

Lately, D has been watching the Food Network non-stop. Apparently, he saw an episode of "Chopped" one night while he was home with his dad. Ever since, we have seen just about every Food Network Show. I don't mind except it gets D thinking about food constantly and eating more. He has been going on the treadmill more frequently, thank goodness.

On a lighter note, D decided that he wanted to make something out of Rachael Ray's Cooking Rocks! 30-Minute Meals for Kids cookbook. Probably because we were watching her show when he got home this afternoon. He picked the recipe for Crunchy Oven-Baked Chicken Toes. They were very tasty even with my substitutions. We didn't have any corn flakes so I had him use corn meal instead.

Crunchy Oven-Baked
CHICKEN TOES!

Makes 4 Servings

1 cup corn flakes cereal, any brand
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon allspice (the SECRET ingredient)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders (2 packages),
cut into two inch pieces by GH (Grown-up Helper)
1/4 cup honey mustard, any brand
1/4 cup barbecue sauce, any brand

Have your GH turn on the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make the breading: pour the corn flakes into a pie pan or other large, shallow dish. Crush the cereal up with your hands. Mix in bread crumbs, brown sugar, salt, pepper, andn allspice (your SECRET ingredient; do not tell anybody what your secret ingredient is -- ever!).

Drizzle the vegetable oil evenly over the breading. Have the GH pour the oil out slowly. A vegetable oil bottle has a big opening, so 3 tablespoons will pour out pretty quickly, probably by the time you can count to 5, so watch the GH closely and count really loudly! Toss and turn it to mix the oil all through the bread crumbs and crushed-up corn flakes.

Pour the flour into another shallow dish, and the beaten eggs into a third. Turn the chicken in flour, then eggs, and then in the special crunchy breading. Arrange the chicken toes on a nonstick baking sheet. You and your GH should go and wash your hands now. Place the chicken toes in the oven and cook until crisp and brown all over, about 15 minutes.

When the toes come out of the oven, it's time to stir up the sauce for dipping them. Mix together honey mustard and barbecue sauce in a small bowl. Dip your hot chicken toes into your honey mustard barbecue sauce.

We ate these chicken toes with broccoli and mashed potatoes but Rachael Ray suggests Creamy Salsa Dip and Veggies and Fuji Apples and Peanutbuttery Caramel Dip. Both recipes can be found in her Cooking Rocks! cookbook.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Asian Dinner

Yesterday, D was watching Sandra Lee on the Food Network and she was doing an "easy" Japanese dinner. Of course, D wanted to make something similar right then and there but I couldn't because either I didn't have the ingredients or they were frozen. I pulled some beef and string beans out of the fridge to thaw. Today, I was able to make a meal that I have had on the back burner. D loves teriyaki sauce so I made Teriyaki Beef Stir-Fry and I also made something called Dry Fried String Beans which are quintessential Chinese dish. This was a mixed-up Asian meal but it sure was tasty! We combined these two Asian dishes with my favorite Jasmine Rice. The results were great even though I'm sure that these two dishes would never be paired together in any restaurant.

TERIYAKI BEEF STIR-FRY
from Cooks.com


1 lb. top round steak
6 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
2 tbsp. oil
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 c. broccoli
1 can baby corn
1 can straw mushrooms
Onions

Cut 1 pound top round steak into thin strips. Marinate in 6 tablespoons teriyaki sauce, 2 tablespoons oil and 4 teaspoons cornstarch for 30 minutes.

Stir-fry 1 cup broccoli, 1 can baby corn, 1 can straw mushrooms and onions in 1 tablespoon oil for 3 minutes; remove. Stir-fry beef (1/2 at a time) 2-3 minutes . Return all ingredients. Cook until hot. Makes 4 servings.

I did not make this dish with any of the vegetables. I would definitely try it that way if I wasn't already planning to make the dry fried string beans. I also added chopped fresh ginger to both dishes.

Dry-Fried String Beans
from Cooking.com

Active Time: 15 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 servings

1-1/2 lbs. string beans
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon Szechuan chili paste or hot sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce, low-sodium if possible
1 tablespoon dry sherry or rice wine
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

Wash the beans under running water. Drain the beans well on paper towels.

In a wok or skillet, heat the oil until just before it smokes. Add the beans, standing back to avoid being splattered with oil. Cook the beans over high heat, stirring and turning frequently, until they are wrinkled and lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Remove the beans with a slotted spoon and place in a colander to drain. Set aside.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of oil from the skillet. Over high heat, reheat the remaining oil. Add the scallions, garlic, and Szechuan paste and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the soy sauce and stir.

Put the string beans back into the skillet. Add the wine and sugar and stir well until mixed, about 1 minute. Remove from skillet and serve.

I also finally made the rum balls and imitation rum balls. I didn't use any nuts in either of them. I just added extra cookie crumbs. I think that I added too much liquid to the non-alcoholic ones because they were somewhat gummy. D and his friend said they were good but really sweet. The real rum balls were also a bit too gummy but not as bad as the others. They are pretty potent. I tried one but because I have never eaten a rum ball before in my life I don't know if they are good or not. I have to ask B to try one for a real taste-test.



Enjoy!

The Creative Cook