Popcorn-Crusted Chicken Tenders

The perfect finger food, popcorn-crusted chicken tenders are flavorful and crunchy with a buttered popcorn coating. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

If you have been reading here for a while, you know that I am a huge fan of Costco and shop there regularly when I am in the States but I must confess that, IMO, their microwave popcorn is terrible. So many kernels left unpopped that it’s ridiculous. 

I bought my husband their enormous box of microwave popcorn a few years ago as a surprise treat and we ended up throwing most of it away. Did we have an old batch? The expiry date said otherwise. Truly, I didn't know what to think. If you’ve had a different experience, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe it's improved?

After trying many brands (Act II, Pop-secret, Orville Redenbacher, Jolly Time, etc.) we’ve finally decided that Orville Redenbacher original butter is the best value for money with the number of kernels that actually pop vs price and flavor. (Also no PFAS in the packaging these days.) So that’s what I used in this recipe. If you use a brand that tastes good and pops more reliably, I’d love to hear about that too! 

That said, you can also use stovetop popped corn but then you won't have the buttery flavor in the crust. 

Popcorn-Crusted Chicken Tenders

This recipe was adapted for one on All Recipes that was meant to be cooked in an air fryer but having baked similar dishes in my oven, like my oven-baked butterflied shrimp and salt-and-vinegar-chip crusted cod fingers, I cranked up the temperature and it worked great. Crunchy chicken outside, tender tenders inside.

Ingredients

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon mustard powder

Several generous grinds black pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

14 oz or 397g chicken tenders (about 8)

1 bag Orville Redenbacher butter microwave popcorn or your favorite brand

1 large egg + pinch sea salt

Method

Use a sharp knife to remove the thick white tendon from the tenders. 

Dry them thoroughly with paper towels then season them with them with the salt, paprika, mustard powder and black pepper. 

Toss them with the cornstarch to make sure they are seasoned all over and completely coated. 

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line a baking pan with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Pop the bag of popcorn according to manufacturer’s instructions. Open and leave to cool then measure out 4 cups or about 35g of popcorn into a plastic bag and crush it into crumbs. 

In a large bowl, beat the egg well with the pinch of salt. 

Dip the seasoned chicken pieces into the beaten egg.

Then add to popcorn crumb bag and shake to coat.

Place the coated chicken on your prepared baking pan. 

Bake for 8 minutes in your preheated oven. 

Turn the chicken over and cook for an addition 6-8 minutes or until golden and cooked through. 

Serve hot and crispy with your favorite dipping sauce. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for and/or with popcorn in celebration of National Popcorn Month! Many thanks to our host Camilla from Culinary Cam. Check out the links below. 

• Beurre Noisette Popcorn Balls, A Bubbly, and Other Popcorn and Wine Pairings by Culinary Cam
• Bourbon Popcorn Trio by Our Good Life
• Caramel Popcorn by Sneha's Recipe
• Nacho Cheese Popcorn Seasoning by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Parmesan Thyme Popcorn with Browned Butter by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Popcorn-Crusted Chicken Tenders by Food Lust People Love
• Popcorn Granola Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet and Salty Popcorn Snack Mix by Making Miracles

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Spicy Guinness Marinated Chicken Thighs

Tender, juicy and flavorful, these spicy Guinness marinated chicken thighs tick all the savory boxes for a perfectly delicious prep-ahead main course.

Yes, this is my second chicken thigh recipe in a row. What can I say but right after wings – my favorite part of a chicken – thighs come in a very close second. They are meaty and stay juicy, even if slightly overcooked, something I cannot say for chicken breasts. I'm always afraid of drying those out!

I made this recipe with Guinness stout to celebrate National Drink a Beer Day which I am celebrating with my Sunday FunDay blogger friends. Make sure you scroll down to see links to the recipes everyone else is sharing. 

Spicy Guinness Marinated Chicken Thighs

I used Guinness for this recipe but you can substitute your favorite stout or dark beer. I happened to have a bottle open because I was baking double chocolate Guinness muffins for Muffin Monday. (Check back for that recipe tomorrow!) This recipe is adapted from one on Domestic Fits.

Ingredients  

1 small shallot

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil, plus extra to oil baking pan

1/2 cup or 120ml Guinness Extra Stout Beer

1/4 cup or 60ml balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons chili powder (spice mix, not cayenne)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon MSG (monosodium glutamate)

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs

Method

Purée the shallot and garlic with the olive oil in a small food processor.

Add that mixture to a gallon bag along with the dry spices and sugar.

Add in the Guinness, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Seal the bag and massage it until the sugar and salt have dissolved and the spices are well mixed. 

 

Add the chicken. Press the air out of the bag and seal so that the chicken is well coated with marinade. 

Marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight, chilled in the refrigerator. 

When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove the bag from the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. Oil a large baking pan with olive oil. 

Remove the chicken from marinade and put it in the baking pan, skin side up. 

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and cooked through. 

Pour the marinade in a small pot and gently bring it to the boil. 

Keep it at a low boil for at least 10 minutes, then cook to reduce the liquid by half. 

Use the cooked marinade to baste the chicken regularly as it bakes. 

Remove from the oven and serve warm with any remaining cooked marinade on the side as a sauce. Garnish with chopped green onions, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and as I mentioned above, we are celebrating National Drink a Beer Day. Check out the links below.

• Beer and Garlic Marinated Chicken Breasts from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Beer Batter Fried Shrimp/Prawns with Green Tahini Sauce from Sneha's Recipe
• Michelada from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Guinness Marinated Chicken Thighs from Food Lust People Love
• Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup from Amy's Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Fresh Blackberry Tarts

Sweet summer berries are the star in these fresh blackberry tarts baked in puff pastry with a hint of balsamic, honey and sea salt. Treat yourself and serve them with thick pouring cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The best thing about summer is all of the fresh produce that is suddenly available from either local sources or at least ones that don’t add airmiles to the price. I think we can all agree that anything picked nearby tastes more like it should since it’s allowed to ripen on the vine or bush instead of in the hold of a truck or airplane.

In the Channel Islands, there are blackberry bushes growing wild! Here they are called brambles and despite the vicious thorns, we wait eagerly for the berries to ripen so we can pick them. Nothing beats free fruit, am I right?

Fresh Blackberry Tarts

Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheets come in a box of two with a total weight of 1.1 lbs or 490g. I used only one sheet for these four tarts.

Ingredients for four individual tarts

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but chilled (I used Pepperidge Farm, see note above)

12 oz or 340g fresh blackberries

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 teaspoons butter

Optional to serve: thick pouring cream or vanilla ice cream.

Method

In a mixing bowl, toss the blackberries and the cornstarch together. 

Add in the honey, vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir gently to combine. Set aside to macerate for 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare a baking pan by lining it with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Gently unroll the puff pastry and cut it into four equal pieces. Place them in the prepared pan. Fold the sides up slightly, pinching them together to form an outside crust. If the sides don’t want to stick together, wet them with just a drop or two of water to help them adhere to each other.  

Give the blackberry bowl a good stir then divide the mixture between the four crusts. 

Top with 1/2 teaspoon butter each, cut into little bits.

Bake in your preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the crusts are puffed and browned.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool. As you can see, some of the juice ran out but the tarts were still juicy and the blackberries were soft.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Serve with fresh cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with blackberries! Check out the links below. 

• Blackberry and Apple Slaw from Palatable Pastime
• Blackberry Cobbler from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Blackberry Ricotta Pizza from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fresh Blackberry Margarita from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Fresh Blackberry Tarts from Food Lust People Love
• Jamun/Indian Blackberry Chia Jam from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Blackberry & Rosemary Goat Cheese from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Summer Berries Flaugnarde + Olallie Gin Fizz from Culinary Cam

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Passion Fruit Posset

Made with only four main ingredients, there is no simpler or more delicious dessert than a passion fruit posset. It’s tart, sweet and creamy!

Last year around this time, just before my birthday in fact, a package arrived on my porch. When I opened it, I found 10 gorgeous passion fruit. No idea where they came from. 

I posted to social media in the hopes that someone would enlighten me and it turns out they were a birthday gift from my elder daughter, who knows I LOVE PASSION FRUIT. 

I’m not much of a cake lover so for my birthday, I made passion fruit posset just like this, except in one big bowl. I served it with a spoon into smaller bowls once it had set. We all enjoyed it thoroughly and so not too many days later, I made it again and poured it into pretty glasses to chill and serve. 

Since I have some passion fruit pulp in the freezer, I’ve decided to continue birthday tradition and make this again. This year it’s just two of us at home so I’ll probably halve the recipe.

Passion Fruit Posset

If you can’t find fresh passion fruit, check the freezer section in your nearby grocery stores, especially if you have ones that cater to Asian or Latin clientele. They often sell frozen pulp. Whenever I see the fresh ones at a reasonable price, I freeze my own as well. 

Ingredients – to serve four 

5 large passion fruit, halved and pulp scooped out

1/4 cup or 60ml fresh lemon juice

2 1/2 cups or 590ml double cream

1/2 cup or 113g caster sugar

pinch fine sea salt

Method

Strain the seeds out of the passion fruit, extracting as much juice as possible. I find it helpful to vigorously whisk the whole mess which loosens the seeds from the pulp. I got about 1/3 cup or 80ml of juice.

Pour the juice into a measuring vessel then add some seeds back till you reach the 1/2 cup or 120ml mark. Reserve the rest of the seeds for topping. 

Add the lemon juice to the passion fruit juice, stir, then set aside. 

Combine the cream and sugar in a medium saucepan set over a low heat and stir for 2 mins to dissolve the sugar. 

Turn the heat up to medium and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 mins (set a timer) then remove from the heat and immediately stir in the passion fruit and lemon juice mixture. 

Divide evenly between four (8 oz or 240ml) cups or glasses - do this quickly, as the mixture will start to thicken. Since I was using glasses, I put a small teaspoon in each to make sure the heat didn’t break the glass. 

I removed the teaspoons before chilling. 

Leave to cool for 10 mins, then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. The posset can be made up to three days ahead and chilled.

Once set, add the reserved passion fruit pulp to the top.

And serve. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes that we make in our families for special occasions like birthdays. Check out all the links below! 

• Eggless Mango Semolina Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• {Harry Potter} Platform 9 3/4 Cake (Chocolate Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting) from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Hawaiian Beef Sticks from Palatable Pastime
• Holy Cow Chocolate Pie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• The Mann Men's Birthday Treats: Bûche De Noël, Baked Alaska, and Tiramisù from Culinary Cam
• Passion Fruit Posset from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Clementine Pistachio Upside Down Cake

Take your dessert to a beautiful new level with this clementine pistachio upside down cake, baked with pomegranate arils. Easy to make but pretty enough for company. Lots of color and flavor, like a party on a plate. 

I am a huge fan of upside down cakes. First of all, they are super easy to make. The cake batter itself is a quick one bowl recipe – no creaming butter and sugar first – just pile all the ingredients in the mixing bowl and beat. 

The fruit or nuts at the bottom (and then, of course, the top when it’s flipped) can be varied by what you have on hand and the season. I’ve even used canned fruit too, with great success. Drained canned apricots are particularly pretty if you take the care to place them all rounded side down.

Clementine Pistachio Upside Down Cake

This upside down cake features beautiful orange clementines. Mine were quite large, but if all you can find are smaller ones, that works too. Just use a few more to make sure the bottom of your pan is covered in slices before spooning in the batter.

Ingredients

For the upside down part:

2 large clementines (zest one for the batter!)

1⁄8 cup or 20g pomegranate arils, some reserved for garnish 

1⁄4 cup or 30g slivered pistachios, some reserved for garnish 

1⁄3 cup or 75g butter, plus extra for buttering the pan

1⁄2 cup, packed, or 100g light brown sugar

For the cake batter:

1 1⁄2 cups or 190g flour

1 cup or 200g sugar

1⁄2 cup or 113g butter, at room temperature 

1⁄2 cup or 120ml milk

2 eggs

3⁄4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

Zest 1 large clementine

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Prepare a springform baking pan (about 10in or 25cm diameter) by buttering it liberally and then lining it with parchment paper cut to the exact size of the bottom. You can take your chances and not line it if you have a non­stick pan but sometimes caramelizing sugar will stick. And that is one of the risks of upside down cakes. 

Melt your butter and allow it to cool slightly. Add in the brown sugar and stir well. Pour this mixture into the baking pan. It should spread right out and cover the bottom.

Peel your clementines and cut them into about four or five slices each. Remove any seeds.

Arrange them side by side over the sugar/butter mixture, making sure to put all the cut sides down, because those will be up when we turn the cake over. Sprinkle the pomegranate arils and pistachios all in and around the clementines, saving some for garnish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat all of the cake batter ingredients at low speed until well mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently with a rubber spatula.

Increase the beater speed to medium and beat for five minutes, stopping every couple of minutes to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Slowly spoon the batter over the clementine slices in your baking pan. Smooth out the top with your rubber spatula.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes. The cake should begin pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Remove the sides of the springform pan. 

Invert your serving plate on the top of your wire rack and turn both over quickly and decisively. Lift the bottom of the springform cake pan off. 

Gently peel the parchment paper off of the cake. If any bits have stuck to the parchment, ease them carefully off with the tip of a knife as you peel back the parchment. Use a spatula to scrape up any syrup left in the pan and drizzle it over the cake.

Leave to cool completely then sprinkle on the reserved pistachios and pomegranate arils.

Cut in 8-10 slices to serve.

Enjoy!

It’s the first Wednesday of the month so that means it’s time for my Foodie Extravaganza friends to share recipes in celebration of October being National Dessert Month.  Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Radha of Magical Ingredients.

• Food Lust People Love: Clementine Pistachio Upside Down Cake 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories : Butterscotch Pots de Creme 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Rose Cham Cham 
• Magical Ingredients: Dried Fruits and Nuts Roll 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Pumpkin Parfaits

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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