I have yet to meet a child who doesn't require chicken nuggets as a part of their diet. As a mom, I've fallen prey to claims of "all white-meat chicken" and "whole grain" on boxes of cute dinosaur or mouse shaped chicken nuggets. But it's what lies beneath those items on the ingredient list that are harmful to our children. That being said, I opted to make Out of the Box chicken nuggets for like minded families. In a very short amount of time you can prepare comparable nuggets both in taste and consistency. After baking them, they can then be easily frozen for those quick weeknight dinner needs.
*2 lbs organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
*1 tsp sea salt
* 1/4 tsp garlic powder
* 1/2 tsp parsley flakes
* 1/2 tsp dried oregano
* 1/4 tsp onion powder
* 1/4 tsp pepper
* 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
* 1/2 cup all purpose flour
* 1/4 tsp paprika
* 2 eggs beaten
* Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Step 1 (8 minutes)
* Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
* Cut chicken into large pieces.
* Place chicken pieces in food processor and pulse until ground fine.
* Transfer chicken to large bowl and mix in sea salt, garlic powder, parsley flakes, onion powder and pepper.
Step 2 (12 minutes)j
* Coat broiler pan with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil
* Mix flours and paprika onto plate. In separate bowl/plate, beat eggs.
* Roll chicken into small golf ball sized balls (approximately 25-30 balls)
* Roll each ball into flour, then egg, then flour.
* Press each ball into rectangular "nugget" shape (or using cookie cutter cut into shape of choice)
* Place nugget on broiler pan.
* Drizzle olive oil over the nuggets. (nugget does not need to be completely coated)
Step 3 (25 min)
* Bake nuggets for 15 minutes. Turn nuggets over, drizzle other side with olive oil, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until browned.
Total Time: 45 minutes
To Freeze:
* Let nuggets come to room temperature, then place in plastic freezer bag and freeze.
* Nuggets can remain in freezer for up to 3 months.
To Reheat:
* Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees.
* Bake nuggets for 15 minutes.
