Table Talk Recipes

As promised, here are my favorite recipes from the Table Talk event.

Image via Matt Olson

My personal favorite was the Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders that my group made. I think the above picture sells itself! They were simple and delicious. If you have kids, most likely they love chicken nuggets. Not only do these taste much better than frozen or fast food chicken nuggets, but they are also much more healthy and a lot more frugal.

The secret to these is crispy outside that is created by the Panko bread crumbs. If you are not familar with Panko bread crumbs ( I wasn’t!), they are the bread crumbs that you typically find in Asian foods. They are larger and more corse and crispy then regular bread crumbs. Until recently it was difficult to find them in the regular grocery store, but now Progresso makes a line of Panko bread crumbs, and you should be able to find them in your regular grocery store.

Image via Matt Olson

Mandy, me and Toni from my group, making our chicken tenders.

Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders
1/4 C. flour
1 egg
1 Tablespoon water
1 C. Progresso Plain or Italian style Panko Bread Crumbs
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 lb. chicken breast tenders
2 Tablespoons butter, melted (optional)
Dipping sauces (marinara sauce, ranch, honey, BBQ sauce or peanut sauce)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

In one shallow dish place the flour. In a second shallow dish beat the egg and add the water. In third shallow dish, place the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, mix. Coat chicken breasts in flower, then egg, then bread crumbs.

Place on cookie sheet and drizzle with butter. We tried making half of the tenders with the butter and half without, and I personally preferred the ones without the butter, so I would cut the butter. It goes straight to your thighs anyways

Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once. Cook just until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Serve with dipping sauce.

Image via Matt Olson

My second favorite recipe was Garden-Fresh Lasagna, made with Hamburger Helper. I must admit, I am not much of a Hamburger Helper fan. We have it every once in a great while, but only when my husband isn’t home because he does not like it at all. However, this really did not taste like Hamburger Helper. I bet I could hide the box and my husband wouldn’t even know it was Hamburger Helper!

Garden-Fresh Lasagna
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 1/2 C. hot water
1/2 C. milk
1 box Hamburger Helper Lasagna
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 small tomato, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 small bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced (1 cup)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz.)

In 10 inch skillet, cook beef over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until throroughly cooked, drain.

Stir in hot water, milk, uncooked pasta and sauce mix (from Hamburger Helper), oregano and garlic powder. heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato, bell pepper, zucchini and cheese. Cover, simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, uncover. Sauce will thicken as it stands. 
If you have little ones that are picky eaters, then you will want to check out Mandy from Gourmet Mom On the Go’s post on how she took this dish:

Image via Matt Olson

and turned it into this:

Image via Matt Olson

In fact, if you have picky little eaters you will want to check out her whole site for cute ideas that make eating fun for kids.

Other Recipes We Tried
Double-Layer Tacos (I love the concept of these, but now that I make my own refried beans, I really don’t like canned, they are just too salty. I will try them again, but with homemade refried beans.)
Easy Fish Tacos (I didn’t try these, but most everyone loved them)
Fattoush Pasta Salad (this one wasn’t my favorite, but I am not really a fan of Suddenly Salad)

Enjoy and let me know if you try any of the recipes and what you think of them!