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Crunchy cluckers with honey mustard dip


I'll just go ahead and say it. My kid is a picky eater! My oldest is three and his favourite foods include bagels with cream cheese, pickle and mustard sandwiches, and chicken fingers. Fine, but not that extensive a list. He'll also eat fruit of any kind and most vegetables, so I'm not worried about his health. What I am royally miffed about is my habit of making him something different from what mommy and daddy are having for dinner because his food repertoire is so limited. I don't expect him to get all psyched about curry for dinner, but c'mon! A little pasta now and then isn't gonna kill ya, kid! It's so frustrating and I know so many parents can relate. So, I'm on a mission to start cooking dinners more often that we'll all enjoy. Together.

It's a no-brainer that chicken nuggets/strips/fingers are a hit with kids. They're crunchy, they're tasty, and dipping is just plain fun. So this is where I'm starting on my mission of more shared meals - crunchy cluckers with a honey mustard dipping sauce.

Here's how I made them:

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp mild smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
pinch pepper

1 lb skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup prepared mustard
2 tbsp liquid honey 

While the oven was preheating to 400 degrees (F), I mixed together the first seven ingredients in a medium bowl to make the crunchy coating. Then I got my assembly line set up for dredging, with the flour, beaten eggs, and the coating each in separate vessels. Each piece of chicken went first into the flour, then the egg, then the coating. 


At the end of my assembly line was a parchment lined baking sheet. Once all the pieces were coated, they went in the oven for 20 minutes and I flipped them half way through the cooking time.


While the cluckers were baking, I made the honey mustard dipping sauce. In a small bowl, I mixed the honey and the mustard. That's it. Honey mustard!


Success! With some vegetables on the side, this is a meal we can eat in peace and togetherness. Days are too exhausting and relationships too important to spend dinnertime in a funk over picky eating.


What do you do about picky eating? Is dinnertime stressful in your house too? What do you make that the whole family will eat together? Leave a comment and give me your tips, please!