Curried Chicken Tenders with Kicked Up Ketchup

I had this other post all prepared to share with you tonight....and then I made dinner.  And dinner was AWESOME.  And I got sooooooooooo excited about how this new dish turned out that I just couldn't wait to tell you about it!

So I'm jumping ahead of my game plan. Hope that's ok. ;)

This recipe caught my attention because I have a 3-year-old who's going through...let's say it's a Selective Phase.  When he was a baby, we called him Leftover Boy because he would eat everything.  I miss Leftover Boy.  I'm not sure what happened to Leftover Boy but he walked out of my house a looooooooooong time ago, and in his place I'm left with a kid who eats mac & cheese, pancakes, PB&J, and chicken nuggets.

Needless to say that dinners have become something of a struggle.  We are making progress with at least getting him to try things but it can get so exhausting.  I really try to incorporate dishes I know he'll eat and love but I also like to make sure that Rob and I aren't bored either.

Enter this risky recipe...

Curried Chicken Tenders with Kicked Up Ketchup
Recipe from Food Network Magazine

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" strips
2 large eggs
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp curry powder, divided
1 tsp cumin
Salt
1-2 cups Panko
3/4 cup ketchup
Juice of one lime

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray. Whisk the eggs, mustard, 1 teaspoon curry powder, the cumin and 1 teaspoon salt in a shallow bowl. Mix the panko with 1/2 teaspoon curry powder in another bowl.

Look at all those gorgeous shades of gold!

2.  Dip the chicken strips in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off, then coat with the panko. Place the chicken on the baking sheet and mist all over with cooking spray. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

My assembly line

3.  Mix the ketchup, lime juice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon curry powder in a small bowl. Serve the chicken strips with the curried ketchup.

Lined up like little solders

When I decided to make this for dinner, I hadn't fully grasped just how much curry was in it.  But as I was mixing things up and getting my breading assembly line ready to go, I started to get nervous.  Holy cow there's curry in every step of this!  So needless to say I was just about terrified when I saw Gavin excitedly grab the little chicken strip off his plate and sink his teeth in.

"Hey Mommy, I like it.  This is good!"

Former Leftover Boy

I think you could have scraped me off the floor I was so shocked and THRILLED!!!!  The chicken had this very light, but not super intense curry flavor that wasn't spicy at all (helps that I used sweet curry powder).  The panko helped ensure that no matter how I cooked this, they'd be crispy.  Now, I will say that I didn't push my luck with the ketchup; I gave Gavin plain instead.  Rob and I enjoyed the curried ketchup though.  At first I couldn't quite taste a difference, then the sharp tang of the lime came through and that flavor mellowed out with that delicious curry.  Really good with those chicken tenders!

But, what if you don't like curry?  That's ok, my feelings aren't hurt.  Check out the concept of the recipe, using your own favorite spices instead.  I love how this LOADS UP FLAVOR in the egg mixture, and then carries the curry flavor to the breading, and even to the dipping sauce.  Experiment.  Do what feels right and tastes good to you.  That's the fun of cooking!