school lunch: ritzy chicken tenders

I thought it would be fun to start sharing recipes for quick and simple lunches that are kid friendly and easy to make during the school week. It's nice to be able to serve something other than sandwiches or leftovers a few times a week but I also don't want to spend much time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up in the middle of the day.

I've linked to the recipe for Ritzy Chicken Tenders on my blog a couple of times when I've posted my menus. I found it at Divine Domesticity. The original version of the recipe is here. I love this recipe! My kids think they are the best and are always excited when I make them. It is so easy to make a large batch of these and keep them in the freezer ready to reheat for lunches.

I often find fresh chicken tenders at a reduced rate in my grocery store's meat dept. so I buy them to use for this recipe. You could just buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them up as well. The original recipe calls for you to pound the chicken breasts thinner before slicing them so that would be a good idea too.

One more thing about this recipe....do not try to make these without first marinating the chicken in buttermilk for at least a day, preferably two. It makes the chicken so tender and moist and is definitely worth the bit of extra effort.

Ritzy Chicken Tenders

chicken tenders or breasts (pounded fairly thin and sliced into 6 - 8 pieces)
buttermilk
Ritz cracker crumbs (I agree with Ali that the Vegetable Herb Ritz are especially good!)
vegetable oil for frying

Prepare chicken if necessary. Place in bowl or ziptop bag and cover with buttermilk. Allow to marinate in the fridge for up to 2 days. Crush a couple of sleeves of Ritz crackers into crumbs. Place in a wide, shallow bowl. Roll each chicken tender in the cracker crumbs (shake some of the excess buttermilk off if necessary first); coat well. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan and fry for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate when done. I prefer to wipe out the pan with a paper towel between batches when I'm frying them otherwise the coating that falls off tends to burn.

If you'd like to freeze these I think it works best to lay them out on a cookie sheet and flash freeze them, then transfer to a freezer bag. Reheat in a 350 degree oven till hot.