Kid Friendly Italian Chicken Fingers

I love any dinner that I can prepare ahead of time, especially one that I can just stick in the oven close to dinnertime. Today I prepped Giada's Kid Friendly Italian Chicken Fingers while my boys were napping. This recipe is very similar to Ree Drummond's Chicken Nuggets recipe which I often make (I always make them as chicken tenders though), except for a few things - Giada's recipe has parmesan mixed in with the breadcrumbs and her recipe is baked whereas Ree's is fried. In both recipes, you cover the chicken in a flour mixture first (I find it easiest to do this in a ziploc bag), then dip it in egg, then in a breadcrumb mixture. My husband loves Ree's recipe when I make it so I was curious to see how he liked this one. I thought it was delicious. He thought it was a bit dry (I baked them for 15 minutes so next time I will try a little less time) and liked Ree's recipe better. I will still try this one again and see if I can win him over on it, but you really can't go wrong with either recipe!

Kid Friendly Italian Chicken Fingers

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentis

1½ pounds chicken tenders

1 Tablespoon salt, divided

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup of all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

¾ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil, to drizzle

¾ cup of store-bought or prepared marinara, to serve

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°.

Season the chicken tenders evenly with a teaspoon of salt.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour with the remaining 2 teaspoons salt. In a second medium bowl, whisk together the eggs. In a third medium bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Dredge the chicken in the flour and then into the egg mixture. Allow any excess egg mixture to drip off and coat the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture. Arrange the breaded chicken in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake until golden and cooked through, about 13 to 15 minutes.

Warm a bowl of marinara in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Arrange the chicken on a platter and serve warm marinara on the side.

Yield: 4-6 servings.