I hope you are getting to enjoy the sun, some pampering, maybe a little breakfast in bed and, most important of all, some slobbery kisses from the little joys that give us the privilege of having a day devoted just to our awesome selves ;)
I have been spending my day taking care of a feverish little 3 year old, trying to coax a 10 month old into taking a much-needed nap and cooking! One of these things has been much more pleasant than the other two so, while the 3 year old is passed out on the couch and the 10 month old is finally napping, I will share with you what I've made-- and devoured ;)
My children love chicken nuggets. My husband loves chicken nuggets. I love chicken nuggets. And while, Mayce's all time favorite, Dino nuggets are delish, I can't quite get that image of the pink goo (ya know, the stuff we all hoped was strawberry soft serve?) out of my mind.
Today I decided to make my own nuggets from scratch. Last week, during a play date, my good friend Lauren served us the most delicious salad with yummy, organic nuggets- seriously, my new fave. And I immediately went to Trader Joe's and snatched up all the ingredients.
Today, I thought I would try the salad with these gems.
I started with a pound of skinless, boneless chicken breasts, made a coating out of crushed ritz crackers, flour and seasonings; and then baked them! From start to finish, the entire recipe took as long as it would have taken to bake frozen, processed nuggets.
They are crunchy- even though they are baked- moist, flavorful and definitely addicting. These nuggets can be eaten as is, with your favorite dip (Alex's favorite is Frank's Redhot Sweet Chili), or on your favorite salad.
I wish I could tell you they received the picky 3-year-old's seal of approval, but she was passed out on the couch :/ However, they were delicious and got 3 out of 4 thumbs up- plus a paw ;) At least thats what I gathered as they were quickly disappearing off the platter while I was trying to take pictures of the salad!
And the salad?
Chop up some romaine, add the nuggets, dried cherries, pecans, pears and Trader Joe's Champagne Pear vinaigrette. Thank you Lauren for introducing me to this delight- my tastebuds will continue to thank you for years to come :)
Cracker Crumb Chicken Nuggets
Serves 4 (2 Adults and 2 children)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
20 ritz crackers
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
3 Tbl. melted butter, cooled to room temperature
Canola spray
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. I used my convection oven.
2. Place ritz crackers in a large ziploc bag and crush to fine crumbs with a rolling pin.
3. Add flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Set aside.
4. Cut chicken into one inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. In two batches, dip chicken cubes into melted butter and then shake in crumb mixture.
6. Spray baking sheet with canola spray (or whatever you have on hand) and place chicken nuggets in single layer.
7. Spray the nuggets with the canola spray lightly.
8. Bake 8 minutes- flip- bake 5 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce, enjoy on a salad or just pop them in your mouth every time you walk past the pan ;)
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