Baked Italian Chicken Tenders and Garlic Fries

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These chicken tenders are easy and delicious!  The fries are guilt free and of course, extremely tasty.  I actually got the chicken recipe from Giada De Laurentis and altered it to make it healthier.  The fry recipe is from Ellie Krieger who has an awesome show on the Food Network called "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger".  She has tons of awesome and healthy recipes on there! 


Chicken Tender Ingredients: 

• Extra virgin olive oil
• McArthure Cultured Lowfat Buttermilk
• 2 pounds of chicken breast, cut into tenders
• 1 1/4 cup of Panko Italian seasoned bread crumbs 
• 1 1/4 cup of Jaclyn's Italian seasoned bread crumbs (or any other organic brand you like!) 

Garlic Fries Ingredients: 

• 6 Idaho potatoes
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp of kosher salt
• 1 tbsp of fresh or dried Italian parsley

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  First, cut the chicken breasts up into chicken tenders. Then, put the chicken tender pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them.  Toss the chicken tenders in the buttermilk to make sure they are completely coated.  Cover the bowl and put them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

While the chicken is marinating, cut the potatoes into French Fries.  To do this, cut the ends off of the potato, then cut the potato in half lengthwise, then cut the halves in half lengthwise.  After that, cut each piece into strips that are the same size.  Then, cut each strip into individual fries.  Try to cut each fry the same size to that they cook evenly.  

*Tip: If you make fries frequently, it may be worth it to buy a fry cutter.  You can get some good ones for very inexpensive (less than $20) at places like Bed Bath and Beyond!  

Once the fries are cut, heat 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium high heat.  Add the minced garlic and stir constantly to avoid the garlic from burning. Once the garlic is browned and crispy (after about 2 minutes), take the pan off of the heat.  Then, strain the garlic through a strainer so that you separate the garlic pieces from the oil. 

Add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to the garlic oil, stir a little to combine, and then coat the fries with the garlic oil.  Coat a baking sheet with olive oil and spread the fried over the pan evenly so that each fry is touching the sheet.  Bake the fries in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until they are brown and crisp.  Make sure to turn the fries over at least once while baking. Sprinkle the garlic pieces and parsley over the fries. 

While the fries begin baking, mix the Panko Italian bread crumbs with the regular Italian bread crumbs.  Then, take each buttermilk coated chicken tender and dip it into the bread crumbs.  Gently pat the bread crumbs so they stick well to the chicken tenders.  Put all the pieces of breaded chicken tenders on a baking sheet coated with olive oil.  Drizzle some more olive oil on top of the chicken tenders and put them in the oven.  Bake the chicken tenders for about 12-15 minutes, or until browned and cooked through. 

Tip:  Put the fries on the bottom rack of the oven and the chicken tenders on the second rack.  The French fries need more time to cook and this will help speed up the process. 

Serve the chicken tenders with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce.  Yum!