Recipe: Baked chicken nuggets

My kids don't like packaged chicken nuggets. From what I read, they might be the only ones who turn their noses up at the things.

But they don't mind, from time to time, a homemade chicken nugget. And I, from time to time, crave them. For years, I relied on the recipe that's printed on the side of the Bisquick box. But, after I started making my own baking mix two years ago, I started looking around for other healthy options.

I don't like to fry things at home, so all of the recipes I tried were baked. And they all turned out soggy, bland chicken nuggets that just weren't that exciting. My kids would eat a couple and fill up on sides.

That's until I found a Martha Stewart recipe. This one does have several steps, but they turn out crispy and tasty nuggets of chicken.

I did make a couple of small adjustments.

Instead of dipping the nuggets in flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs, I mix the flour and eggs together to make a paste. Then, I dump all of the chicken into the mix of flour and eggs and stir it around so it's all coated. Then I coat them in the bread crumbs. It cuts out a step and makes it a little less messy.

I also increased the amount of breadcrumbs and Parmesan because I ran out the first time.

Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and cut the chicken into two-inch pieces. I cut the chicken in the morning so they'd be ready to go in the evening.

First, you need to toast your breadcrumbs. Spread the panko on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown - about six to eight minutes. Keep an eye on them as they can burn pretty quickly. Pour the toasted panko into a shallow dish and add the Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt and oil. Mix it all up.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Set a wire rack on your baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray.

Mix your flour and eggs into a bowl and pour the cut up chicken into it. Stir it around so that the chicken is coated. Then, coat the chicken pieces in the panko mixture and place on a rack, one at a time. Bake until cooked through, which should take about 12 minutes. Flip the nuggets once they've baked for six minutes.

This makes enough for two dinners for my family of four light eaters. I like to use these as leftovers by warming them up with a little marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese and serving over pasta for a chicken Parmesan the next night.