Chicken Nuggets!

Yep. Those little chicken things that kids can't get enough of. Well, my kid at least. If Jordan could only eat one food from now until the end of time, you had better believe that girl would say "chickens." That being said, we go through more than a few of them. While Tyson, the brand we usually get, at least uses ingredients everyone can pronounce, when you make them at home, you know exactly what goes into them.

Plus, I had to try out my new gadget...

Now, before you start, let me warn you, while this one is easy, it's a mess. Don't do it when the baby is screaming or the toddler would like you to open every piece of halloween candy she got (or both, like I did). Also, go big or go home. If you do it, I recommend doubling or tripling (or more) the recipe for a larger yeild. You'll only have to clean up the mess once, but you'll have way more reward. In addition to the ingredients, you'll want to make sure you have an apron or mess towel (I use a towel when I'm working with raw meat just to wipe my hands before going back to the same stuff - DON'T use it to wipe anything that won't be washed before eating off of, like clean plates, or your hands after you wash them). And you need some sort of a food processor or grinder.

I like to gather all of my gear and ingredients before I even start. Here's what you'll need:

Equipment:

• Decent Knife (for cutting raw chicken into strips or cubes)
• Cutting Board
• Food Processor/Grinder
• Mixing Bowls
• Spatula
• Fork
• Plates
• Large, Heavy Frying Pan
• Paper Towels

Ingredients:

• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. flour
• 1 1/2 c. oil for frying

You can toss all of those spices in one small bowl - they're all going in at the same time anyhow. It should look something like this when you have everything:

So, now that you have everything, let's get started. Put the oil in the skillet and heat it over medium to medium high heat while you prep so that it's ready to go when the nuggets are. Keep an eye on it though; if it starts to smoke at all, turn it down. I'm not sure of an exact temperature you're shooting for here, but we'll get to that later.

Cut your chicken in to strips or cubes depending on what your processor reccomends, and then use the processor to grind the chicken into a large mixing bowl. You'll want it to have a paste consistency so make sure its set for fine grinding rather than coarse. Once all of the chicken is ground, mix in the spices. Use a fork to fluff it up and really make sure they're well blended. I tried to actually run mine through the food grinder again with the spices to make sure they were all blended, but it didn't help much and made more of a mess, so I wouldn't bother with that.

Here comes the messy part: See that ball of sticky paste? Roll it into smaller balls. I got 24, but you could easily get 32 depending on the size. I would say about 1" diameter is about right. Now take those balls and roll them in flour, dip them in egg, then toss them back in the flour. If you manage to do this without accumulating half of your egg and flour on your fingers, please, please tell me how. Also, I have to note that it was at this point that Harper decided it would be a nice time to eat, and Jordan needed her candy. But I digress... Flatten out the balls as you set them down; they should be starting to look like nuggets now.

Time to check your oil. Remember I said if it's smoking, it's too hot? Well, toss a little flour in it. Does it bubble up right away? If not, it's too cool, so turn it up a bit. When you toss in the flour and the oil immediately reacts, you know it's at the right temperature. Go ahead and start putting in the chicken. Cook them 5-10 minutes on each side. They'll have a nice golden color when they're done cooking.

Once your nuggets are done, move them from the skillet to a plate covered in paper towels. It'll absorb some of the oil while they cool. Serve with honey, Heinz Ketchup, BBQ sauce... however you like.

Surprisingly tasty, if a little messy, these homemade chicken nuggets are well worth the work. For just over $10, I can make a few more than come in the bag (at the same price), and the homemade ones kill the freezer section ones in taste. You just can't beat fresh...