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Lesson 8 of 12
Chicken Tenders & Fries
What You'll Learn
- How to preheat an oven and set the temperature
- How to set up a breading station (flour → egg → crumbs)
- The “one hand wet, one hand dry” technique
- How to use a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Oven mitt safety and using a timer
Safety Checklist
- Adult helper present the ENTIRE time
- Oven mitts on BOTH hands when opening the oven
- Stand to the SIDE when opening the oven door — heat blast
- Never reach into the oven — slide the rack out instead
- Set a timer — don't guess
- Hot baking sheet goes on the stovetop, never on the counter
Watch & Learn
Ingredients & Tools
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- Salt & pepper
- Frozen fries
- Ketchup for dipping
- Cooking spray
Tools
- Baking sheet (x2 if you have them)
- Parchment paper
- 3 shallow dishes or plates
- Fork
- Oven mitts
- Timer
Let's Cook!
- Set up your station. ADULT preheats oven to 425°F.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper
- Set up the breading station — three dishes in a line: (1) flour with a pinch of salt & pepper, (2) beaten eggs, (3) breadcrumbs
- One hand wet, one hand dry! Your DRY hand handles flour and crumbs. Your WET hand handles the egg.
- DRY hand: Dip chicken in flour, shake off excess
- WET hand: Dip in egg, let excess drip off
- DRY hand: Press into breadcrumbs, coat all sides firmly
- Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Don't let pieces touch.
- Repeat for all tenders
- Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray
- Spread frozen fries on a second baking sheet (or around the tenders if space allows)
- ADULT puts both sheets in the oven
- Set timer: Tenders 15–18 min, fries 20 min (check fries package)
- ADULT removes with oven mitts
- Let cool 5 minutes. Cut a thick tender in half to check — white all the way through, no pink.
- Serve with ketchup!
Pro Tips
- One hand wet, one hand dry = no clumpy breading mess on your fingers
- Press the breadcrumbs on firmly — they'll fall off otherwise
- Parchment paper means easy cleanup (almost no scrubbing)
- If a tender is pink inside, put it back in the oven for 3–5 more minutes
Skills Checklist
- I set up the breading station in order (flour, egg, crumbs)
- I kept one hand dry and one hand wet
- I used parchment paper on the baking sheet
- I set a timer and didn't guess
- The adult used oven mitts for everything in/out of the oven
- The chicken was white all the way through — no pink