Ewwwwwww…

Ew you guys. Ew.

Background: We’re having chicken tonight and I forgot to put out two chicken breasts to de-frost on the counter this morning (I know that’s bad, but I don’t care – when I forget to de-frost chicken in the fridge two days ahead of time, yes, I de-frost on the counter. It’s true.) so I called Ben on my way to work and asked him if he would put the chicken breasts out. Like a good kitchen helper, he said he would

The Scene: It’s 4:30 and I arrive home. I climb the stairs to the kitchen and see a paper towel lying over a plate. “Oh,” I think, “those must be the chicken breasts. Ben is so nice.” Mmmm…yeah…I get closer and realize that the paper towel has soaked up all the juices from the de-frosted chickens and has distributed them all over my entire kitchen. AHHH!!! Yes! Raw chicken juices free-flowing over my entire kitchen! Over the countertops, over the clean dishes in the dishwasher that were air drying with the door open, over the floor, over the rug in front of the sink – everywhere! Sickening.

Actions Taken:I reel in my gag reflexes and start the clean up process. Oh – not before stepping in some chicken juice though. That’s right, I have sticky chicken foot now which no amount of scrubbing will take away I finally got it all cleaned up, sanitized the afflicted areas with about 1/2 a bottle of lysol kitchen cleaner, put the rug in the washer and re-started the dishwasher…but…there’s still a mysterious chicken juice leak coming out of the corner! I can’t find the source people! Waaaaaahhhhahahaha…ugh, blech, ick.

Needless to say, my run was canceled. Although maybe it’s for the best – there’s some dark clouds rolling in right now. I got a mom walk in this morning too, so I’m feeling ok.

Disclaimer: I had full permission to re-tell this story – I am not throwing Ben under the raw, chicken-juice infested bus! Plus, bless his heart, he was just trying to help. Maybe next time I’ll just de-frost in the microwave

Well, onto dinner my friends. I loved those Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders I made last week so much – well, I made them again…slightly modified, of course.

About a month ago, I saw a jar of Franks Buffalo Sauceat the store and picked it up…intrigued by the possibilities. Possibilities came to a head tonight with…Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders! mmmm!

I cut the aforementioned chicken breasts into tenders, pounded them out slightly and marinated them in the buffalo sauce.

While the tenders were marinating, I made some baked fries! I was going for “healthy bar and grille” I cut up four, small potatoes into “fry” shapes and tossed them with a tad bit of light Italian salad dressing and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Really, you don’t need a lot of either of these ingredients to get a good crisp on these! I baked them at 425 for 13-14 minutes a side and finished them under the broiler.

While the fries were baking, I took the tenders out of the marinade, dipped them into some panko bread crumbs seasoned with S&P and garlic powder, and when the fries were done, baked them at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, flipping half way through. I finished them off with a blast from the broiler so they could reallllly get their crisp on. And they did!

Aaaand, just so I could feel really good about this meal, I tossed some asparagus with a tiny bit of olive oil, S&P and garlic powder, then roasted them in with the chicken tenders.

What a hit friends! We could have been at Hooters! Which I made my first visit to while in San Francisco earlier this Spring. I know, I know. Of the literally thousandsof incredible, unique and top-notch dining establishments that we could have picked in San Fran – we chose Hooters. To be fair, they had an incredible happy hour, which is what we were really there to take advantage of. Plus…Ben kind of liked our waitress too Seriously though, these were so easy and crunchy and spicayyyyy. Not too spicy though – you know I don’t like that!

So while I’m still cleaning chicken juice off my feet – tell me – what’s your latest kitchen disaster?!