Dinner DeeAs recipe: Homemade Tenders & Tots

As a parent, ‘what’s for dinner?' can be a loaded question. Can we make meals that children will willingly eat, but aren't just pizzas or burgers or shaped into dino nuggets? And if you're trying to figure it out, you're not alone. As you know, I've got two hungry boys at home, Holden is 8 years old and Shem is almost 1 and starting on solid food. Even though their Dad does a food show on TV, sometimes they won't even try my cooking! Joe is a viewer who had the same dilemma. He emailed DinnerDeeAs@fox.com asking: "I want to see Jeff make some kids meals. I don't see a lot of chicken tenders made, so I would like for you to make it." How about a whole kid's meal? I'm going to share a recipe I've been working on for a homemade meal that's just as fast - and inexpensive - as a frozen dinner, but with ingredients you control, and no processed food in sight.

Click here for a printable version of the recipes below. If you make any of them, send me a photo and let me know how they turned out!

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Crispy Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

Marinade

2 pounds chicken tenderloins
1 cup buttermilk
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon paprika

Breading

2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp ground black pepper
¼ cup sweet paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder + 1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground ginger
3 tbsp ground white pepper
(optional): 1 tbsp ground yellow mustard

Cooking

3–4 cups vegetable oil (for frying)

Directions

Combine chicken and marinade ingredients in a resealable bag. Massage to coat, place in a bowl, and refrigerate 4–24 hours.
Whisk all dry breading ingredients in a large bowl.
Remove chicken from marinade and coat in seasoned flour. Rest on a baking sheet.
Heat oil to 350°F. Fry tenders in batches, 2–3 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Homemade Tater Tots

Makes ~24 tots

Ingredients

2 large russet potatoes (about 1½ lbs)
1½ teaspoons salt (plus extra for sprinkling)
½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
½ teaspoon onion powder (optional)
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch
1 egg (optional, helps bind but not required)
neutral oil for frying (vegetable, canola, or avocado)

Directions

Peel and place whole potatoes in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 6–7 minutes. Potatoes should be slightly tender but not fully cooked. Drain and let cool completely.
Grate cooled potatoes using a box grater. Gently squeeze out excess moisture with a clean towel or paper towel.
Transfer to a bowl and mix with salt, white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, flour (or cornstarch), and egg if using.
Scoop a tablespoon of mixture and form into small cylinders or barrel shapes with your hands.
Heat oil to 350° F and fry tots until golden brown (3–4 minutes).
Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Want them extra crispy? Chill shaped tots for 15–20 minutes before frying. It slows the cooking process to allow for crispiness and helps shape hold better when it hits hot oil.

Add finely chopped onions, cheese, or herbs to potato mix to mix it up.

Purple Rain Smoothie

I made this one at the house for Beth a lot especially when she was pregnant. It’s called Purple Rain because it looks purple after it is blended and who doesn’t love the artist, Prince?! His version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps is magical.

Ingredients

½ cup frozen blueberries
½ cup frozen strawberries
1 small banana
1 handful spinach (she would never taste it! But I totally snuck in spinach and sometimes apple)
¾ cup apple juice (if I didn’t sneak in the apple above) or milk
1 tbsp honey
Optional: 1 tbsp chia seeds and sometimes I would sneak in some peanut butter too and a splash of orange juice