I think every kid loves chicken nuggets and french fries, and I think most parents do too, if only for the fact that it’s quick and easy, and you know your kids will eat it! I’ve often just pulled chicken nuggets out of the freezer (only Bell and Evans brand), but this time I decided to make my own. I had a bunch of random stuff in the fridge… buttermilk, the last few Kennebec potatoes I bought from a local farmer, fennel, celery. A plan began to take shape… homemade chicken tenders, roasted potato wedges, and a fennel, celery, and apple salad (recipe from epicurious.com). The only thing I needed was a package of chicken tenders (Smart Chicken Organic), so I made a quick trip to the Teeter on my way back from carpool.

When we got home, I dumped the chicken tenders in a bowl with some buttermilk doctored up with smoked paprika, salt and pepper and left those to marinate for about a 1/2 hour. While the chicken was marinating I put together the salad, I have a fairly cheap mandoline that made quick work of the slicing. I sliced the potatoes into large wedges, tossed them with salt, pepper and olive oil and threw those onto a heated sheet pan and popped those in the oven to bake. And because every chicken nugget (or tender) needs something to take a dip in, I mixed up a quick honey-mustard dip. Equal parts mayonnaise and low fat Greek yogurt, a big squeeze of honey from the bottle, and a large spoonful of Dijon mustard. Wow, I almost ate it all right out of the bowl it was so tasty!

The kids loved the chicken tenders and the potatoes, especially when dipped in the honey-mustard sauce (which doctored up with a little olive oil and apple-cider vinegar reappeared as a salad dressing later in the week), but were less enthused about the salad. Fennel has a very assertive taste and I think that threw them off. The husband and I both loved the salad though… so I guess there was something on the plate for everyone!