my kids, like all humans on planet earth, love nuggets. and i get it! they are a perfect food. unfortunately, since my job is to make sure that my kids are eating a ~well balanced diet~ and are exposed to a wide variety of foods, nuggets can’t (and tbh, shouldn’t) be on the menu every day. even though that would eliminate all of our food DRAMA, it just isn’t gonna be a thing. IN THIS HOUSE we only eat nuggets sometimes, is basically the rule.
BUT, over the past *cough* year and a half *cough*, my offspring have truly whined me into a puddle. i am becoming a spineless blob because i am tired of arguing about “how many bites?!” (ALL THE BITES! JUST TAKE ALL THE BITES!). i am becoming quicker and quicker to lose my cool when i am met with food hesitation - and i know that getting mad isn’t going to help anything. so, the other day i asked my 5 year old what i could make that wouldn’t cause anymore dinnertime drama and of course, he said “nuggets and fries”. which, fine. i asked!
so i decided to dedicate this week to nuggets: it’s officially nugget week in the dekker house. but the twist is i want to make them as healthy as possible while still being delish and whine-proof. added value nuggets, if you will. think: extra veggies, spices, maybe even a grain or a legume! and they’ll be baked, not fried.
so on day one i went for an OG chicken nugg, but with some extras. a little mirepoix, riced cauliflower, leftover roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes from the weekend, some spices, an egg, a panko crust. easy and quick and delish and everyone ate it! glorious. served with veggie fries - parsnips, carrots and beets (which came frozen, in a bag thanks to my local grocer - i’m no hero, cutting beets sucks). i had a bunch of leftover chicken filling AND riced cauliflower, so i fried it together and made a cauliflower fried rice side. and that was dinner. and EVERYONE ATE IT (mostly). my children have the attention span of goldfish, especially at dinner time, so we did our best. and in this case, nobody whined and everybody ate a few bites of everything, which is truly the best case scenario when it comes to feeding kids. we take what we can get.
for the rest of the week i’m going to try different versions on the same theme. yesterday, i did a falafel-ish chickpea based nugget with spinach and squash with cucumber salad & watermelon on the side. again, no complaints! i’m going to try a white bean/mushroom/broccoli version tonight, and will probably make polenta fries (using pre-cooked polenta in a tube. again - i am no hero & i also truly hate doing dishes). if you want to follow along for the rest of nugget week, find me on instagram @katieneeds!
before i share the recipe i want you to know that nugget possibilities are endless, and the basic nugget formula goes as follows:
pick your base: meat? a bean? a lentil? tofu? another meaty substitute?
add value: 1-2 veggies. spinach, broccoli, peas, cauliflower, squash, sweet potato, mushrooms, carrots…go nuts.
add seasoning: salt, pep, your fave herbs, turmeric, garlique / onion powders, paprika, sumac?! - whatever you want!
bind it: egg, aquafaba, a flax egg?
need to thicken it up? breadcrumbs, chickpea flour, regular flour, oats even!
coating: breadcrumbs or panko, season with salt and garlic pow.
added value chicken nuggets
makes a whole bunch.
ingredients:
1 pack of ground chicken
a carrot or two, a celery, half a small onion, diced (this is mirepoix. pro tip: make a whole mess of this and keep it in your freezer for easy access)
a clove of garlic, diced
1/2 head of cauliflower, riced (grate it on a box grater)
any other vegetables you want!
1 egg
2 cups of panko breadcrumbs
salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic powder, sumac, olive oil.
method:
turn on your oven to 400. line a big baking tray with parchment, and set up a medium bowl and a large bowl in your work space.
in the medium bowl, add your panko, a tsp of salt & pep, a couple tsps of garlic powder and a tsp of sumac. mix it all up, taste it and adjust your seasoning as you wish. set this aside.
now, in a big enough frying pan, cook your veg. start with the mirepoix and a big glug of olive oil. cook that down until the onions are soft, then add the garlic, cauliflower and any other veg you have. whatever it is, make sure it’s chopped really small. when that’s all soft, add it to your big bowl.
add the ground chicken to the bowl with the veg and mix it all together. season it with salt, pepper, 1/2 - 1 tsp turmeric if you want! crack the egg in there and mix it all together. you want to be able to scoop it and have the mixture hold it’s shape - kinda like a meatball. if it needs to be thicker, add some breadcrumbs or a tbsp of flour.
i used a small ice cream scoop, but you’re going for about a tablespoon of filling. drop that into the panko and coat your nugget. flatten it into your desired shape, put it on the baking tray and repeat until you’ve got a lovely bunch of nuggets.
bake that for like 20-25 minutes, or until the nuggets are golden. flip ‘em once, about halfway through. and check them around 20 minutes to make sure they are not too dry. there is nothing worse than a dry nugget.
serve em up! enjoy them!
PS: if you make extra you can definitely freeze or fridge ‘em for leftovers. you can also fry up the leftover filling and keep it on hand as a little snack. i would put it in a wrap for lunch any day.
okay! i hope you AND your children enjoy these nuggets! please let me know if you make them!
xoxo,
kt