Fresh Chicken Nuggets

I started a new trick.  I will not feed anything to my kids that I wont eat myself; things like mac & cheese, hotdogs, and chicken nuggets. Now, I try to not use the terms “never” and “always”, because there are exceptions to everything. But, for the most part, I make it a rule. And, since I have done that, the eating in our household as improved overall.

My kids love to eat chicken nuggets. But, the ones you buy in the frozen food section of the grocery store are frigging disgusting. I don’t know what those things are, but they aren’t chicken.

A while ago, I was watching a show with Jamie Oliver on it, and he showed how to make real “chicken nuggets”. I tried it, and my kids love them. In fact, when I say we’re having chicken nuggets, they insist on “Fresh Chicken Nuggets”. It’s very easy to do, and the cool thing is that I eat them too. Except, I make one giant one with a whole breast.

Here’s how I make them.

I get two boneless chicken breasts. Well, they are actually two half breasts, but it seems most people call a half breast a whole breast these days. I always get really super confused about that. When people say “a chicken breast”, I think of the whole breast. But, usually, they mean a half breast. I blame it on the grocery stores and marketing. Anyways, take two half breasts, and cut one up into nugget-sized pieces.

Then, get two bowls. In one bowl, mix up a couple eggs and milk. In the other bowl, add in some bread crumbs or Panko. I prefer Panko, but bread crumbs work well too.

Dip the nuggets, one by one, in the milky egg stuff, then into the Panko. Then onto a baking sheet. I usually line the baking sheet with foil and spray some cooking spray on it, so the chicken doesn’t stick.

After you’re done with the nuggets, take the other breast, and dip it into the milky egg stuff. Then, cover it with Panko. Put it on the baking sheet too.

Pre-heat your oven to 400. Add the baking sheet of chicken into the pre-heated oven, and cook for about 20 mins. Obviously, the time will vary with your oven. Also, I’ve noticed that the nuggets might cook faster than the breast. So, you might have to take the nuggets out first, and then continue cooking the grown-up nugget for a little longer.

As usual, the kids will probably want ranch dressing or ketchup (gross) for dipping. But, they will love these way better than the gross frozen ones you get at the store. And, the are better for them.

Also, I have made this without the kids, and you can add spices into the Panko and make it grown-up yummy.

Enjoy, and let me know if you have any feedback.

Pancakes

I think I just made the best pancakes in the world. I’ve been messing around with different recipes, but couldn’t quite hit was I was after. Until today. So, I’m going to share my new found glory. It’s easy to do, but you have to be willing to throw away the idea that buying a box of dry ingredients in which you just add water, is a good idea. If you want to really dig in and do it right, you gotta break an egg and mix some ingredients. So, let’s get started…

1.5 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1.25 to 1.5 cups milk (I use non-fat, but fat milk probably works better)
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

The dry ingredients:
First, use a sifter and sift all the flour into a bowl. I sift it twice to make sure it’s extra sifty. This adds to fluffyness, which is actually a technical cooking term. Then, add the other dry ingredients.

The wet stuff:
In a different bowl, gently beat the egg. Then, add the other stuff.
Melt the butter in a microwave. Or, if you’re going really old school, melt it in a pan. But, as a warning, that might be taking it all a bit far; unless you’re camping, then it’s OK. Don’t put hot melted butter in the mix. Let the butter cool a bit, but don’t let it get hard either. There’s a delicate balance here.
Mix all the wet ingredients together.

Now, gently and slowly add the wet with the dry, and stir gently. Over-stirring will make your pancakes suck (too tough and chewy).

If you think the batter is too thick, you can add milk, but I like them exactly as this recipe calls for.

Now, take the batter and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. It has to settle before you start cooking. You can even do this the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight, and then you’re good to go in the morning.

After 30 minutes, or 8 hours, or whatever, take the batter out of the fridge, and DO NOT MIX OR MESS WITH IT. Just drop about a .25 cup of batter into a hot pan or griddle and let it sizzle. From this point, I assume you know how to cook, so I’m not going to go through all that. Just cook them until they’re done, put on a plate, add a little syrup, and go!

At first, making pancake mix from scratch might seem like a pain in the ass. It really is easier to just buy a box of Aunt Jemima from the store and just add water. I guess you can always do that if you’re just feeding your hungry children and have no interest in actually making yummy food. But, my motivation was eating that box stuff and thinking, “these pancakes really taste like shit”. And, so the exploration began. It’s easy to do, it’s fun, and after a while, the recipe will be in your head and you wont need to even look at it.

Another thing you can do is make the dry ingredients in advance, and store it in an air-tight container. I have been told that you need to freeze the flour for a couple days before you do this. Please, don’t ask me why, just do it. And, then you can store the dry stuff for a while. Not forever, but probably for a few months. This way, it’s easy to just add the wet ingredients when you’re ready.

Another thing about pancakes is that I don’t like adding fruit to the batter. If I make banana pancakes, or use any other fruit, I just add it on top of the cakes. Adding the fruit to the batter really messes with the composition of the batter, and I don’t like the way the pancakes turn out. I know there is a way to change some things and compensate for this, but I haven’t figured that out yet.

Here’s a visual of the result.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you have any feedback as to ways to improve this or ideas, I’m always happy to hear from my readers.

Jerry