Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I had pinned this recipe a LONG time ago, and just got around to making it.  And I am SO glad that I did.  I love having easy/healthy meals around the house for the kids. When McKinley is hungry, you better have something quick or the world quickly comes to a halt.  For instance, when she wakes up in the morning, we know that we can not get her out of bed until her breakfast is on her high chair tray.  Because if we even think about getting her up, letting her play, while we are fixing breakfast.. her feelings get REALLY hurt.

With that being said, this is a perfect recipe for quick dinners.  McKinley eats about five (seriously).. Jackson will eat 3 or 4 and then we serve normally with a fruit and veggie.

I did make a couple of changes from the original recipe that I pinned.  Instead of cooking the nuggets in oil, I baked them.  I sprayed them with a little olive oil cooking spray just so they would brown up a bit more.  I let them cool, put them in a freezer bag.  And when I am ready to reheat, I just cook the desired amount at 350 for 20 minutes.

The great thing about this recipe, is its a really good concept.  If you dont like the idea of having cheese on your nuggets you can leave that out.  The original recipe called to crush up some whole wheat bread for the bread crumbs, I used panko.  It suggested using a few seasonings, I just stuck with garlic powder.  So... add what you like, take away what you dont.

You know your kiddos are eating real chicken this way.  :)

What you Need:

5 chicken breasts (really you can use as many as you want!)
1 egg (if you use more chicken you may need another egg)
1 cup panko (again if you use more chicken you may need to add more of the coating mixture)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste


What you Do:

1. Chop the chicken into small chunks and sprinkle them with salt and pepper (if desired).
2. Lightly beat the egg in a shallow bowl.
3. In another shallow bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, cheese, and garlic powder with a fork.
4. Now you are ready to bread the chicken. Dip chicken in the egg and then coat in the panko mixture.
5. Arrange on a cookie sheet
6. Lightly spray the nuggets with olive oil cooking spray
7. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken)
8. You can serve immediately.. or let cool and put in freezer bags to freeze for later.

When Wanting to Reheat:
1.  Take out the serving of nuggets you want, bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

YUMMY!