Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Why waste your money on manufactured chicken nuggets for your you and your kids when for approximately $5 you can make 2 dozen fresh homemade nuggets where you personally control the ingredients. A 10-piece chicken nugget at your local fast food restaurant has almost 500 cal and 30 grams of fat plus all those ingredients you can't pronounce. Here is what's in mine:

Ingredients:
1 - Pkg boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup - grated Parmesan cheese
1 - egg
1/4 cup - fresh parsley
1/4 cup - fresh chives
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 TBS - Dijon mustard
2 tsp - Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp - Soy sauce
1 tsp - black pepper
1 tsp - salt

Breading:
3 - eggs, beaten
2 - cups panko bread crumbs
1 - cup all purpose flour

Place all the nugget ingredients in a food processor and process till smooth or about 1-2 minutes depending on the power of your food processor. The texture will appear semi smooth and on the wet side.

In 3-separate bowls place the flour, egg, and panko. Take approximately 2-3 TBS of the chicken mixture and form into a nugget. Coat with the flour, then egg wash, then the panko. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. The nugget will feel very flimsy, but once your freeze it all will be good.  Continue the process until all the mixture is gone. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 2-4 hrs till frozen. Once frozen store nuggets in a freezer bag until ready to use.

You have several options when it comes to cooking these nuggets. You can bake, broil, pan fry or deep fry. Personally I always bake them to keep the calories down. Pre heat your oven to 350, place a frozen nugget on a baking sheet and cook for 15 min. Flip the nugget and cook for another 15 min. If the nuggets are not brown place them under the broiler for a couple minutes till brown.