Healthy Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Who said eating clean means giving up your favorite childhood staples? Not me! Simply clean up the ingredients and you've made something that has more taste than the original!
These are no different - my kids and hubby LOVE these. As do I... especially because I can double this recipe and freeze a whole batch of them for a quick lunch or dinner later.
So maybe instead of swinging by the fast food joint on the way home from soccer, pop these in the microwave or oven when you get home and skip the mom-guilt of relying on fast food, yet again.
Healthy Homemade Chicken Nuggets
(from 100 Days of Real Food)
INGREDIENTS
1 lb local or organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon paprika (I have the smoked, and it adds a really good taste)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking oil (I use olive oil)
INSTRUCTIONS
Chop the chicken into small chunks and sprinkle them with salt and pepper (if desired).
Lightly beat the egg in a shallow bowl.
In another shallow bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, cheese, paprika, and garlic powder with a fork.
Now you are ready to bread the chicken.
There is a simple technique that will make this part very easy. Make one of your hands the “wet hand” and the other one the “dry hand”. With your wet hand toss some of the chicken chunks
into the egg mixture until they are coated on all sides. Then with your wet hand drop them on top of the bread crumb mixture. With your dry hand sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top of the chicken and then flip them over a few times until the pieces are coated. Put the coated pieces on a plate while you work on the rest of the chicken.
Heat a thin layer of oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat.
Cook the chicken nuggets for several minutes on each side until they are golden brown. You want the nuggets to be cooked all the way through by the time they get brown on the outside. Cut one down the middle to make sure it is fully cooked (no pink).
Transfer the nuggets to a plate lined with paper towels to help drain off any excess oil.
Serve with organic ketchup or my favorite, homemade honey mustard sauce (equal parts honey & mustard... YUM!!!!). And don’t forget to freeze the leftovers!
