Hunger Game

Sometimes I worry about Thatboy.  I don't mean in the typical "did you take your vitamins" type worry.  I worry that I might have married a teenage girl by accident.  I obviously didn't do a thorough background check.

It started with Twilight - a series that I couldn't get through.  He devoured them and anxiously awaited for the movies to come out.  Like a dutiful wife, I attended the first two movies with him.  And then he asked me not to come with him anymore.  Apparently laughing at adult women tearing up as teenage boys remove their shirts wasn't adding anything to the movie for him.

Based on his love of the series, I told him I thought he would probably like The Hunger Games series.  I didn't know what it was about, but I knew that teenage girls everywhere were all over them.  He wasn't interested.

Until...he was. He asked for the series for Channukah and finished it shortly before the movie came out.  Although, it was doubtful we'd be able to see the movie while it was in theaters. One of the perils of having a newborn is that it is very hard to get to the movie theater.

But then I got a fortuitous weekly email.

Me: It's too bad you have to work on Thursdays.

Thatboy: Why?

Me: Because this week's Parent Movie Morning is Hunger Games.

Thatboy: I think I can miss a little work....

And so, we found ourselves amid a sea of other women, husbands, and babies so we could watch the movie.  I love Parent Movie Mornings.

What's funny is that my boss also took off work to see the movie - on opening day.  He called in "sick" with "stomach problems."  When he called in to check in, he confided he wasn't sure if it was a virus or "hunger."

If you can't decide what your stomach issues are, hunger isn't a bad thought.  And I've got a fantastic cure for that - a hearty salad with chicken fingers.  It's such an awful thing to do to a salad - take some nice, healthy greens and throw something breaded on top.  I do have to say that this is a guilty pleasure salad.  It's not all bad - I bake the chicken fingers instead of frying them.  But still.  Maybe I shouldn't call it a salad.  Let's pretend I'm just healthying up chicken fingers.  Look at all those greens!

Chicken Finger Salad

1 1/2 Tbsp salt

1 chicken breast, cut into strips

3 Tbsp flour

3 Tbsp melted butter

3 cups cornflakes, crushed

2 cups arugula

1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds

1/4 cup raisins

1 Tbsp lemon olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

Parmesan Cheese

salt and pepper

1. Create a brine by combining the salt with 2 cups of cold water.  
2. Place the brine and the chicken strips in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for half an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 400.  Place flour, butter, and crushed corn flakes in separate shallow bowls. 
4. When chicken is done marinating, dry with paper towels then dip in flour, butter, and then corn flakes.  Bake the chicken for 15 minutes.
5. While chicken is baking, toast the almonds in a skillet.
6. Place the arugula in a large bowl and drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over.
7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and toss.
8. Sprinkle the raisins, almonds, and cheese over top.
9. Divide the salad between two plates and top with the baked chicken fingers.