Chicken Strips with Strawberry BBQ Sauce

“Don’t trust anyone who doesn’t love a chicken cutlet.”

This quote heads up the recipe I found on the Epicurious app that inspired this dish. Haha!!

It was listed as “kid friendly” and so I decided to give it a try for my Fiance’s 6 year old daughter, Kenzie. She’s hesitant to try new foods (as most kiddos are) and doesn’t like chicken prepared unless it is presented as a chicken finger or chicken strip.

This recipe looked right up her ally because I know she loves chicken fingers AND she loves her strawberry jam. Strawberry jam is one of only 3 ingredients in the bbq sauce served alongside the chicken. I know it sounds weird, but it is actually quite good! Kenzie loves Smuckers. I don’t, but I also don’t typically put strawberry jam on my toast. I’m an orange marmalade girl.

Another reason this recipe is great — it’s another way to use the Smuckers strawberry jam in the fridge!

I wasn’t sure Kenzie would like these chicken strips because they didn’t come from the freezer and she’s never had them homemade. I’m not big on fried food, so instead of the recommendation by the recipe to fry the chicken I baked it. I did opt to serve the strips along with the suggested white rice (I knew she would eat the rice so if all else failed she wouldn’t starve) and we added a vegetable to round out the meal.

It was a win and so I’m making it again tonight!! Happy Sunday!! This is a perfect Sunday meal and I suggest making enough so you can have leftovers for a salad the following day for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
4 tsp strawberry jam
1 1/2lb chicken breast (cut into strips)
Kosher salt
1 cup flour
3 eggs, beaten to blend
2 cups panko
Olive oil
Cooked basmati or jasmine rice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and strawberry jam in a small bowl to combine.

Season chicken with salt. Place flour in a bowl, eggs in another bowl and Panko in a third bowl. Season each bowl with salt. Grease baking sheet with olive oil.

Working one at a time, dredge chicken strips in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, turning to coat and allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Then, coat with panko. Place on baking sheet.

Drizzle olive oil over chicken strips and place in the oven until cooked through, 25-30min. Remove from oven and serve over rice with sauce and a veggie alongside.