Foodie Friday Guest Post - Chicken Nuggets

Hello there, I'm Barb's daughter-in-law, Melissa and I blog over {here}.

Barb asked me to share a recipe with you all today and since she tends to keep things pretty simple, I chose an easy recipe anyone can tackle: chicken nuggets. 

It takes a little more effort then pulling through a drive-thru or just taking a bag of pre-made nuggets out of the freezer and popping them in the microwave.. but these are way better for you.

Things you will need..

• Chicken thighs (boneless and skinless is easiest to work with. If you are weird like my husband and prefer white meat, you can use breasts.)
• Oil (I've used coconut and olive. Just do me a favor and stay away from nasty canola, pretty please?)
• Regular bread crumbs (by all means, make your own if you are feeling adventurous.)
• Panko bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper

Now, before you start freaking out, "Where are the amounts? How many cups of oil do I need? Ahhhh!".. let me explain. This is a very easily adaptable recipe, so you can make enough to feed just two people or ten people. The key is to use your common sense. So, chill out, and follow along.

First you need to cut up your chicken into "nuggets". I made mine into about 1.5" cubes. Don't be afraid to leave a little fat on your chicken pieces. You aren't going to gain ten pounds from eating a little piece of chicken fat goodness.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

I had about 1.5 pounds of chicken here, I filled a bowl with about a half cup of coconut oil (which melts at 76-78 degrees, so if you are new to this oil, you may have to heat it slightly to get it into liquid form). I also mixed equal amounts of panko and regular bread crumbs in a bowl, about a half cup each. You can always add more into your bowls if you run out, so err on putting too little in your bowls to reduce waste. You aren't going to want to put leftover oil or breadcrumbs back into their containers after rolling raw chicken in them. 

I hope.

You will also want to get your pans ready. I usually use 2-9x13 glass baking pans (like this). Rub those pans down with some oil, and set them close by.

Designate one hand for oil and one for breadcrumbs. Pick up the chicken with you oil hand, swish them around in the bowl, let the oil drip off a bit and then drop into your bread crumb bowl. Use your bread crumb hand to roll the chicken around to get a nice even coat and then put the nuggets into your pans. I usually do 3-4 pieces of chicken at a time to make this go by faster.

Wash your hands, salt and pepper the chicken, and put those pans in the oven. After about 10 minutes, take the pans out and flip the nuggets over. I use a fork and do one at a time. Put them back in the oven for about 10 more minutes. Every oven is different, so you may need to adjust the time.

That's it! Easy, right?

Chicken nuggets go with about anything. This night we had green beans and yogurt with honey, blueberries and nectarines. Kiddos love this stuff. It is one of my son's favorite things. A bonus is that you can freeze them, too. When you don't feel like going through the whole process, just grab a bag out of the freezer and put them in the oven to warm up.

* * *

If you want to visit Melissa's blog, click here. To find her on Facebook, click here.

She is currently having a contest to rename her blog and if you come up with the winning title, you could win a $50 Amazon gift card!