Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Being a mom of three little girls, chicken nuggets seem to always be the "go to" food in my house. I didn't feel so great giving my daughters the frozen ones and thought, how hard could it be to make a homemade version? You can feel good about what you are feeding your kids because you can control the quality of the ingredients going in! These were a sure hit at my house, my daughters loved them as well as my hubby! These were so good, definitely worthy of being on the menu for a kid's party or even an appetizer for the grown ups! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1lb of ground chicken

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp good quality mayo (helps keep the chicken moist)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt (or to your taste)

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup of all purpose flour

1 egg with a few drops of water

1 cup panko breadcrumbs (makes for a crunchy nugget)

2 cups of vegetable oil for frying (you can also bake them if you like)

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the spices (garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper, mayo) and mix well. Add in the ground chicken and mix (try not to over mix the meat, it'll make your meat become tough). Tip: Make a "test" nugget first to make sure the seasoning is perfect and the salt/pepper is to your taste that way you can add in a little more to the mix before making them all and realizing you needed more salt! Now, set up your "breading station," makes the process go alot smoother. In bowl one, place the 1 cup of flour, bowl two, egg wash (egg/water mixture) and bowl three, the panko breadcrumb.

Drop a teaspoon of chicken into the flour, forming a ball (smaller than a golf ball), then roll in the egg wash, and lastly drop it into the panko breadcrumb. Take the ball in your hand and flatten it out to the shape of a nugget and place on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken nuggets are formed. Should make about 30-35 nuggets depending on how big/small you make them. Tip: Allow your nuggets to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so they become firm. This also allows for the breadcrumbs to absorb the egg mixture so that it doesn't come apart when you begin to fry. In a shallow pot, bring the 2 cups of oil to 375 on medium/high heat. Tip: You can test the oil to see if it's ready by taking a pinch of flour and dropping it in the oil if it starts to fizz up, its ready! Fry about 4-5 nuggets at a time so that you don't bring down the temperature of the oil. Fry the nuggets for about 4-5 mins per side or until the nuggets become a nice golden brown. Place the fried nuggets on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce! (bbq, sweet/sour, honey mustard, ketchup, ranch, etc.) Enjoy!