Work Study. Academics never tasted so good.
Work Study is an integral part of many students' lives. It helps them financially get through school, and is an opportunity to gain some incredible job skills. Oh I know there are a bunch of yahoos in DC who want to deeply cut funding for work-study. But I'm a big fan. It's a damn good program.
But seriously... my daughter's first year assignment? The main Dining Hall. Now you might think woo hoo. She gets to clear off tables and wash a few dishes.
But this was a hell of a lot more than that. First, the dining hall was in her dorm. One floor down. So early morning shifts were no big deal.. roll out of bed and slide down those stairs. Secondly, she was in the kitchen. Yep. Learning valuable life skills that she brought home with her.
Now this is where it pays off. I got a deep fat fryer for my birthday. Now don't get started on the whole "that's not healthy" thing. Because now that we're eating real food, fat is our friend. Not in ridiculous amounts of course, but in moderation it's actually quite helpful.
Back to the fryer. I wanted it because I craved chicken wings. But we only eat free range chicken. And we cannot have any sauces made with starch, sugar or chemicals... which at most wing joints... well, nuf said. And as my daughter pointed out, it would be tacky to bring our own sauce and order the wings just straight up.
So there sat the fryer, and I sent hubby off to the market for wings. He came back with chicken tenders. Now I like chicken tenders, but I wasn't so sure how we were going to do this without your typical flour dredge and how about the breading? Hmmm? How would we do this? He said they didn't have wings. Told me it was Melissa's idea to get the tenders. Fine I said, then Melissa can figure out how to cook them.
Work Study, my friends. It pays. Melissa got busy in the kitchen. And managed to find a way to create the perfect dredge and breading. We're talking phenomenal tenders here.
Grain Free, Gluten Free, Low Carb, chemical free, crispy fried chicken.
Now she didn't learn all of her tricks in the dining hall... I think some of it was her insatiable appetite for cooking videos.
So here's her recipe. Enjoy. We certainly did!
Love Me Tenders
1 to 2 pounds of Free Range Chicken Tenders
1 and 1/2 cups chickpea flour
Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder and Sea Salt
1 or 2 eggs (free range)
Take 1/2 cup chickpea flour (aka garbanzo or besan) and set aside in a bowl, season with spices to taste. Melissa didn't measure... she just did a shake here and a shake there. Which is a bit more than a pinch, but not quite a spoonful.
Whisk the egg in separate bowl. Use one, and if you run out, you use another. If you can't have eggs, try flax seed. Just mix 1 tablespoon flax seed and 3 tablespoons water. I can't vouch for how it will turn out though.
Take 1 cup of the chickpea flour and toast in a skillet on medium heat by simply stirring the flour in the pan until it starts to brown. Use a non-stick or seasoned skillet, but do not add any oil. When the flour is beginning to brown up, remove from heat and continue stirring as it cools.
Now dredge each tender in the plain Chickpea flour first, then dip and coat in the egg, then roll in the toasted chickpea flour.
Fry in a deep fat fryer at 375F for 6 minutes, and remove and drain on paper towel, or follow your own individual fryer's instructions for chicken tenders if provided. Try to use healthier oil like Canola. We used a Waring Pro 1800 watt fryer and cooked about 4-5 at a time.
These were really spectacular. I used Ketchup. Not an approved food, but a tablespoon here and there won't kill me. My husband went with hot sauce and blue cheese dressing. Chef Melissa went with Hot Sauce and ketchup. We all were quite happy with our meal. A word of caution. Serve immediately. Don't let them sit for awhile or try to eat cold. Chickpea flour tends to have a short table life. Cook and eat promptly. Which of course we did.
I'd say these were restaurant quality, but truthfully, they were better than any Chicken Tender I'd ever eaten. Bravo my budding chef! Now I have two daughters that cook. So when my eyesight goes and I can't be trusted with kitchen utensils, I know my girls can take care of me. Take heart vegetarians... you can use the same recipe for veggies too.
But seriously... my daughter's first year assignment? The main Dining Hall. Now you might think woo hoo. She gets to clear off tables and wash a few dishes.
But this was a hell of a lot more than that. First, the dining hall was in her dorm. One floor down. So early morning shifts were no big deal.. roll out of bed and slide down those stairs. Secondly, she was in the kitchen. Yep. Learning valuable life skills that she brought home with her.
Now this is where it pays off. I got a deep fat fryer for my birthday. Now don't get started on the whole "that's not healthy" thing. Because now that we're eating real food, fat is our friend. Not in ridiculous amounts of course, but in moderation it's actually quite helpful.
Back to the fryer. I wanted it because I craved chicken wings. But we only eat free range chicken. And we cannot have any sauces made with starch, sugar or chemicals... which at most wing joints... well, nuf said. And as my daughter pointed out, it would be tacky to bring our own sauce and order the wings just straight up.
So there sat the fryer, and I sent hubby off to the market for wings. He came back with chicken tenders. Now I like chicken tenders, but I wasn't so sure how we were going to do this without your typical flour dredge and how about the breading? Hmmm? How would we do this? He said they didn't have wings. Told me it was Melissa's idea to get the tenders. Fine I said, then Melissa can figure out how to cook them.
Work Study, my friends. It pays. Melissa got busy in the kitchen. And managed to find a way to create the perfect dredge and breading. We're talking phenomenal tenders here.
Now she didn't learn all of her tricks in the dining hall... I think some of it was her insatiable appetite for cooking videos.
So here's her recipe. Enjoy. We certainly did!
Love Me Tenders
1 to 2 pounds of Free Range Chicken Tenders
1 and 1/2 cups chickpea flour
Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder and Sea Salt
1 or 2 eggs (free range)
Take 1/2 cup chickpea flour (aka garbanzo or besan) and set aside in a bowl, season with spices to taste. Melissa didn't measure... she just did a shake here and a shake there. Which is a bit more than a pinch, but not quite a spoonful.
Whisk the egg in separate bowl. Use one, and if you run out, you use another. If you can't have eggs, try flax seed. Just mix 1 tablespoon flax seed and 3 tablespoons water. I can't vouch for how it will turn out though.
Take 1 cup of the chickpea flour and toast in a skillet on medium heat by simply stirring the flour in the pan until it starts to brown. Use a non-stick or seasoned skillet, but do not add any oil. When the flour is beginning to brown up, remove from heat and continue stirring as it cools.
Now dredge each tender in the plain Chickpea flour first, then dip and coat in the egg, then roll in the toasted chickpea flour.
Fry in a deep fat fryer at 375F for 6 minutes, and remove and drain on paper towel, or follow your own individual fryer's instructions for chicken tenders if provided. Try to use healthier oil like Canola. We used a Waring Pro 1800 watt fryer and cooked about 4-5 at a time.
These were really spectacular. I used Ketchup. Not an approved food, but a tablespoon here and there won't kill me. My husband went with hot sauce and blue cheese dressing. Chef Melissa went with Hot Sauce and ketchup. We all were quite happy with our meal. A word of caution. Serve immediately. Don't let them sit for awhile or try to eat cold. Chickpea flour tends to have a short table life. Cook and eat promptly. Which of course we did.
I'd say these were restaurant quality, but truthfully, they were better than any Chicken Tender I'd ever eaten. Bravo my budding chef! Now I have two daughters that cook. So when my eyesight goes and I can't be trusted with kitchen utensils, I know my girls can take care of me. Take heart vegetarians... you can use the same recipe for veggies too.
Comments
Post a Comment