Anybody have an easy way to make chicken nuggets that your kids love? I'm trying to make most things from scratch these days and I hate buying those pre-made nuggets from the store - they seem so loaded with bad stuff.
I'd be interested in a good recipe for fish sticks too. I tried to make some last week and wow! they were nasty! :)
These are great! My son just loves chicken nuggets but we haven't had them in a long time because I've been refusing to buy the Perdue ones. It never occurred to me to marinate the chicken beforehand for nuggets, but that is an extremely good idea. I'm going to try each one of these over the next several weeks and see which works best for us. Going to give the Rachel Ray recipe a spin tonight because I have some honey roasted peanuts to use up. ;)
Thanks a lot!
When I make chicken nuggets I usually grind a bag of pretzels in the food processor then mix yellow mustard with buttermilk and dry ranch dressing mix( like the packets), dip cut up chicken breast in the mustard mix then pretzel crumbs and then bake or fry. My kids love them. We usually serve them with honey mustard and I always make a big batch and freeze some.
Our gluten free (but very tasty) recipe:
-Chicken breast tenders or chicken breast meat cut into nuggets
-Salt and Pepper the meat
-Dredge the meat through 2 beaten eggs
-Coat the meat with almond meal
-Place meat on baking sheet coated with olive oil (375 degrees for about 20 minutes). I turn the nuggets/tenders over halfway.
To make a regular recipe (not gluten free), dredge the meat in flour before the eggs and use bread crumbs (can buy in store) instead of almond meal.
This is Rachael Ray's recipe that I've been using a few years, it was featured on an episode about getting kids to eat, but us grown-ups love it, too!
Baked Chicken Tenders
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 cups breadcrumbs, seasoned or unseasoned
Salt and black pepper (or seasoning of your choice)
Yields: 4 servings
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Season the chicken tenders with salt and black pepper. In a shallow dish, season the flour with salt and black pepper then beat the eggs in another shallow dish with the milk. In a third shallow dish, place the breadcrumbs.
Dredge the chicken tenders in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess flour. Dip the floured chicken tenders into the egg and finally, coat the chicken tenders with the breadcrumbs.
Place the breaded chicken tenders onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
I'm with you! There's just so much wrong with chicken nuggets!! My daughter loves the "nuggets" I make her. All it is, is essentially mini-chicken cutlets. I just cut the chicken into nugget-sized pieces, bread them like I would cutlets (flour, eggs, bread crumbs) and cook them. I tend to fry them then bake, though you can just bake them for a healthier alternative. I also make "popcorn chicken" which is the same thing but without the bread crumbs. Just flour and eggs, and depending on your personal taste, I add garlic salt (or powder) to the flour. Makes it sooooo yummy!!
Use chicken tenders. Cut them in half or 3. dip in flour, then egg or milk wash, then into seasoned flour. I put salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder - just a hint of each so it isn't terribly bland or a dash of cajun seasoning. Then deep fry until the float and brown.
I get chicken breast tenders and cut them in half, or thirds. I use whole wheat panko bread crumbs and season them up. I don't do an egg wash, or anything else. I simply rinse the chicken and shake them off a bit. Then I stick them directly into the bread crumbs and bake. For extra nutrition, you can dip them in yogurt, then breadcrumbs. (You can't taste the yogurt once baked.)
Buy the chicken breasts and cut into strips.
Marinade in buttermilk overnight
Dry the strips and dip them into seasoned flour
Dip into a scrambled egg
Dip into crushed Ritz crackers
Bake 350 for 20 minutes (flipping in between)
My son and husband love these! You can makea ton and freeze them before cooking. Just cook longer when they are frozen.
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sizes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs (homemade or Panko or regular)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 egg beaten
Salt & Pepper to taste
Mix all dry ingredients into a bowl. Dredge chicken in egg wash first, then into dry ingredients. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, place in 350 oven for 20 minutes.
YUM!
My " go to" recipe and it is always good. They also freeze like a dream ( I double the recipe and freeze before cooking the nuggets):
Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients:
•Chicken Nuggets
•8 chicken thighs, skinned and deboned
•1 cup buttermilk
•1 egg
•1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
•1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
•3 tablespoons soy sauce
•1/2 teaspoon garlic-flavored hot pepper sauce (recommended: garlic-flavored Tabasco) optional
•Juice of 1 lemon
•1 teaspoon salt
•1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•Vegetable oil, for frying
•1 cup flour, for dredging
•3 eggs, beaten
•2 cups panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
•Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce
•1/4 cup mild yellow mustard
•1/4 cup honey
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
In a large bowl, marinate the pieces of chicken in buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator overnight. This will tenderize the chicken.
Heat oil in a deep fryer. Drain and discard the buttermilk. In a food processor, combine the marinated chicken, egg, chives, Parmesan, soy sauce, garlic-flavored hot sauce, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until a smooth paste is formed, about 1 minute. Make about 2-inch by 1-inch nuggets, lining them up on a baking tray. In a shallow bowl, add the flour and in a second bowl the beaten eggs, and in a third bowl the panko bread crumbs. Coat the nuggets in flour, then egg, and then the panko crumbs and place the nuggets back on the tray. Deep fry in small batches until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Alternately, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet and fry, turning every 2 minutes, for about 10 minutes.
For the dipping sauce: Combine the mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Cook's Note: Can be made up to 1 day in advance.
I love using Panko bread crumbs and spice it up with seasonings of choice...Mrs. Dash or seasoning salt, salt and pepper, onion powder whatever you like.. Mix an egg..dip the chicken in the egg mixture and then toss the chicken in the panko mixture and bake :)
One note. Brine/marinate the chicken first. (Either a saltwater brine or you could even use buttermilk with salt.) This helps to soften the chicken (which I think the kids would appreciate) and helps to avoid overcooking them. It also seasons them.
Look up Rachael Ray's recipe for pretzel/honey roasted peanut chicken tenders. Juicy and yummy. Can be done without the peanuts if you have allergies. I typed it all out here and then my internet went down and I lost the response.
Buy organic chicken beast, wrinse in water and cut into small bites. Dip them in flour, then egg and then either breadcrumbs or Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) or combination. Add salt and pepper and or other favorite seasonings. Either fly with a touch of oil in pan or bake in the oven. My daughter loves them with homemade honey mustard and baked French fries.
