Baked Cheddar Dijon Chicken Tenders

I'm ALIVE! We've had a roller-coaster of days and I can't wait to share pictures with you from my family's visit. It just sparked a flame. Being within driving distance of my older sister now is definitely something to be thankful for. The South West is growing on me day by day... as long as it's not 90 outside. But I guess I have plenty of that to look forward to.

I digress.

I wanted an easy meal to make for the hubs before he hit the road after a few complicated recipes when my sister and family were here. I found this on Just a Taste and knew I had to give it a try.

These chicken tenders are easy and delicious. Plus, if you have a toddler who loves cheese, these are perfect! What's better than chicken tenders coated in cheese crackers?

Ingredients:

- Cooking spray or olive oil
- 2 C cheddar crackers (I used reduced fat Cheez-Its)
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 to 2 lbs uncooked chicken tenders (tenderloins)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 C whole wheat (or all-purpose) flour

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 475. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat it with your cooking spray or brush it with olive oil.
- You have two options for your crackers.

1) Pulse them in a food processor until finely ground.
2) Place the crackers in a plastic bag, seal it, and use a rolling pin to crush the crackers.

I chose the latter because I didn't want to use more dishes. Once crushed, transfer to a shallow bowl and stir in paprika.

- Whisk eggs with Dijon mustard in a separate shallow bowl. Put your flour in a third bowl. Set up your station in this order: Flour, Eggs, Crackers.

- Coat each tender in flour first, shaking off any excess. Next, dip it in the eggs. Lastly, press the tenders into the crackers, making sure to coat them well and as evenly as possible. Place the tender on your prepared baking sheet, spacing them so they don't stick together.

Note: I used 1lb of chicken, which was 8 tenders.

- Bake for around 15 minutes. Turn them in the middle (about 7-8 minutes along) to help them cook evenly.

Serve with more Dijon and expect them to be gobbled up. We didn't have any leftovers.