easy peasy child friendly chicken

I'm off on my first child free weekend in quite a while the day after tomorrow, and have just started a new job, so these first few sunny days of the week, with a very grumbly teething baby and not enough hours in the day have necessitated some easy quick dinners. The hours between four and six are known as the witching hours in our house... Trying to make dinner, entertain two kids and then get them to bed without tears is a daily challenge. This dinner, super quick, and loved by both the six year old and the 11 month old, was probably as much work as getting fish fingers and oven chips out of the freezer, and was so much nicer. It was made to the soundtrack of a loudly shouting baby trying to shuffle around on the kitchen floor and get in the cupboards, a manic six year old running around at my feet, all while face-timing my husband who's working away. In the twenty minutes it took to make, the baby pulled a glass off the side and smashed it, I de-greenflied the roses, and even managed to take photos of the resulting meal! Some sort of medal must exist for mothers who manage to do all this without having a meltdown (or a very large G & T at four in the afternoon), surely??

So, here it is, easy peasy chicken, lol.

One pack of free range chicken fillets - or just get two chicken breasts and cut into thick strips.

Mix a large handful of breadcrumbs with one finely chopped garlic clove, a tablespoon of fresh thyme, a few sprigs of rosemary, salt, pepper and a teaspoon of fennel seeds (these go beautifully with chicken!). Lay out a large double layer square of clingfilm on a surface, then drape each chicken strip in the breadcrumb mix on both sides before arranging on the clingfilm. Do all the chicken pieces, ensuring they are evenly coated on both sides with the breadcrumbs, then cover with another two layers of clingfilm. Then take out all the pent up aggression you have by beating the chicken with a large rolling pin until flattened, and all the breadcrumbs have been mushed into the meat. This not only tenderises the meat, it makes the chicken much easier and quicker to cook as it should be les than a cm thick once you're done, and it gets the flavours right inside the chicken meat.
Heat a griddle pan (or frying pan if you don't have one) and add a little olive oil. Lay the pieces of chicken gently into the pan and press down firmly. All the pieces should fit in to one pan - lay them close together. Fry the chicken on both sides until golden brown - on a high heat it will take about five minutes on each side, adding a few sliced tomatoes in to griddle with the chicken. We had ours simple -  with boiled spuds and steamed broccoli - but I chucked the potatoes in the griddle pan after the chicken was done, purely for flavour. We drizzled a little pesto over the lot to add colour and zing. Yummy.

So we just have one more hot afternoon to survive where I'm on my own after work with two grumpy hyper kids.. then I'm off to Singapore for the weekend :))) beyond excited... Am planning to eat lots of food, take lots of pictures, and generally go on and on about it for quite some time. Think I packed my bag about three weeks ago, and have talked of little else to anyone who'll listen.
It will probably be fish fingers and oven chips tomorrow night :)