Chicken Nuggets On The Fly
You will need: Chicken (I use boneless chicken breasts, you can use strips or whatever you like), milk, and some good old $1 a box chicken seasoning and coating mix.
Yes my dears, not only do I use Shake and Bake, I use generic shake and bake – and I proudly proclaim to all that can hear that “It is good!”.
Of course Southerners are known for their fried chicken, typically made from scratch with a well seasoned coating of flour and spices. I can do that, sure I can do that. But do I want to all the time? Heck no, and neither would my great granny if she were still here. Its little modern conveniences like this coating that my ancestors would have marveled at. We are nothing if not a practical culture.
Now you can make a seasoning coating from scratch, too but like I said, this box costs around a dollar.
For a great homemade coating recipe check out TipNut.com’s posting here.
I don’t fry very often but don’t y’all start a worrying that I’m gonna go over to the “other side”. It’s not because of health reasons at all. I just don’t like the mess. That’s why I love this oven fry chicken. Its not messy, can be put together quickly, and If i want, I can adapt it to make strips for the “big people” and nuggets for the “little people”.
And today, it’s also migraine friendly. If cooking anything can be migraine friendly.
This is an example of how I cut up my chicken breasts. I am using a boneless skinless chicken breast here and as you can see I get six large nuggets out of it. You can use a knife to do this of course but i have a nice pair of dishwasher safe kitchen shears that make cutting up meat a breeze so I just scissor cut right through this.
This is three chicken breasts cut up. I am only using three for a family of four because cooking chicken this way actually causes it to “plump up” and be more filling. You won’t need as much as you normally would.
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour your coating into the plastic bag that comes in the box. Now the box comes with two bags of coating and two plastic bags. I gotta tell ya that I use both of them at once each time I make this. Technically you are only supposed to need one but we don’t fret over technicalities when we want a nice thick coating on our chicken.
Pour a little milk in your bowl and place your chicken pieces in it.
Some recipes call for using egg, some just water, some milk. Milk works for me.
You just do whatever cranks your tractor. 🙂
Put a few pieces of chicken in your bag and give it a good shake.
I just do about half of my chicken in this bag and then I pour the rest of my coating in and finish with the other half.
Place on your baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes for nuggets, thirty or more for whole chicken breasts. Whenever I cook chicken breasts, I always cut one open in the center to see if it is done rather than go by any set time frame.
Some of these boxes of coating will tell you that whole boneless skinless breasts will be done in fifteen minutes.
I hope to find those people someday and sell them some prime swampland.
And that, my dear friends, is my little non-gourmet, super cheap secret to quickie chicken nuggets that the kidders and the big people all enjoy.
Ain’t no shame in my game!
Ingredients
- 1 Box seasoning and coating mix or homemade
- 3-4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless - or can use tenders or whatever you prefer
- 1 -2 cups milk
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast into nuggets. Place in bowl with milk. Pour coating into bag and add a few chicken nuggets at a time, shaking to coat. Place coated pieces onto baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for about twenty minutes for chicken nuggets, thirty minutes or longer (until it tests done) for chicken breasts.
Serve with MeMe’s mashed potatoes!
I love chicken, fixed just about any way.
LOL- you read my mind….I was going to say…”Are those MeMe’s taters????….cause if they’re not we don’t want ’em.”
Hope the migraaines go away soon from a fellow sufferer.
Christy, this recipe sounds great but I’m a “frugal” gal so will be doing the homemade thing. Actually I’ve done this for years but TipNuts’ recipe sounds good and I’ll be adding some dry Ranch Dressing mix for even more flavor. Does anyone have any ideas for dipping sauces (other than catsup and barbeque sauce)? I really hope your migraine goes away soon–they’re no fun!!
We like to mix mayo and mustard together. Add a touch of hot sauce or add a spice you like. Mix this well, and dip your
chicken in it. Hope you give it a try.
I guess that answers the age old question, “What should I make for dinner tonight…?”
Christy, I had completely forgotten about shake and bake till now. Gonna go to Wally World, and find me some generic and try it out. Hope your migraine loses momentum girl!
girl if you dont get away from the blue lights on the computer then that lortab is gonna start losing!
This will surely put more money in my pocket as I have just taken on 2 more little ones (5 & 7) in our house. These little people will eat you out of house and home. Thanks for a quicky when days are short.