Menu Plan Monday
After a long hiatus, I hope to be coming back (if not at least to give ideas for menu planning)! I had my daughter Katie just over two months ago, and now more than ever we’re trying to save money! Menu planning is definitely helping us with that.

1: One Pot Mac & Cheese, Green Salad
2: Tuna Melts, Chips
3: Taco Soup
4: Raspberry Dump Chicken, Green Beans
5: Garlic Butter Shrimp, Orzo Salad with Parsley and Grape Tomatoes
6: Pizza Pretzels with Marinara, Green Salad
7: Beef Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Chips & Guacamole
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Find more fascinating menus at I’m an Organizing Junkie.
Bonnie’s Chicken Tenders
I guess I get to call this my first recipe. There are the basics: dredging, dipping in egg, then coating with breadcrumbs… But the spices. Oh, the spices! They added just a little kick to the tenders, but the spices were not overwhelming.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- All-purpose flour
- Paprika (sweet or hot? you decide!)
- Poultry seasoning
- 2 eggs
- One spoonful dijon mustard
- Japanese panko
- Toasted breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoons Olive oil (more as needed)
- Salt & pepper
- Several dishes to dip chicken in (I used a loaf pan, a large bowl, and a casserole dish… it’s what I have!)
In your first dish, cover the bottom with the all-purpose flour. Sprinkle paprika & poultry seasoning over the top of the flour and mix together. In your second dish, whisk eggs and dijon mustard together. In the last dish, cover bottom with panko and breadcrumbs tossed together.

L to R: Chicken, Flour, Eggs, Panko
Coat all tenderloins with flour mixture, egg mixture and panko mixture (in that order, please!), and place on plate until ready to fry.

Dredging the Chicken

Dipping Chicken in Mustardy Eggs

Coating in Panko
Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Depending on how big your pan is, place 3-4 tenders in pan (no crowding!). Cook for 2.5-3 minutes on each side until center is no longer pink and juices run clear (you can also use a meat thermometer). Use more olive oil for each batch if needed until all tenders are cooked.

Place tenders on paper towels to drain. Immediately salt and pepper each side of the tenders (S&P has a tendency to stick better when things are fresh out of oil). Enjoy!!

Yum!
I’m not quite sure I’ll be buying premade chicken tenders or nuggets ever again. These were so easy to make, and I knew exactly what the ingredients were (hello, pink ice cream chicken! EW!). P and I thoroughly enjoyed these and I’m certain they’ll be on the menu again soon 🙂
Chicken Schnitzel
I’ve been determined to successfully fry something for quite sometime. See, what usually happens is that the outside cooks before the inside so I have a nice crispy breading and raw meat inside 😦 I might have actually conquered frying this past week!
I saw a chicken schnitzel recipe a while back that looked really, really (no, I mean REALLY) good. My mouth was watering just at the sight of it. Well, according to several dictionaries, a schnitzel is a veal cutlet that is breaded and fried (basically a conglomeration of what all the dictionaries said). Uhoh… Frying??? Yikes. I decided to give it a shot anyway–I had backup plans just in case!
Look at this beauty after frying up a couple of schnitzels for P and me!!

Perfectly Crispy Chicken Schnitzel
So here’s what you do:
Take enough boneless, skinless chicken breasts for however many of you there are. Pound them between wax paper until they are 1/4″ thick. Dredge them in flour, dip them in beaten egg, and coat them in plain breadcrumbs. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Place one or two schnitzels (depending on how big your pan is) in the oil and cook for 2-1/2 to 3 minutes on each side (until golden brown and juices run clear). Drain on paper towels and enjoy!
That’s it–seriously! That’s it! Phil’s came out a little crispy, but the heat was too high. He doesn’t seem to mind a few burnt spots. I turned the heat down for mine and it came out perfectly golden brown 🙂 We enjoyed it with our regular condiments (ketchup for me, mustard for him), but next time I make this I will probably make a lemon butter sauce to drizzle on top. ::licks lips:: Yum!