Recipe: Homemade Freezer Chicken Nuggets*

I mentioned a few weeks ago that our family is on a strict, but hopefully temporary diet of only whole foods--no sugar, low fat.  It’s been hard to throw dinner together at the last minute when I can’t rely on packaged side dishes, canned soups, or mixes of any kind.  So last weekend my daughter, who has been following this type of diet for several years, came and helped me put together some freezer foods that are healthy and quick to the table.  We did low fat chicken nuggets, various fish fillets, and pre-seasoned lean taco meat for cheese-free Mexican dishes.  Life without cheese has been hard for us (no pizza!) but there’s no reason to go hungry if you have plenty of vegetables, whole grains, and lean meat on hand.  I have shared instructions for making the Homemade Chicken Nuggets below.  No fillers, no fat, just chunks of chicken breast with a light coating ready to heat up and dip in BBQ sauce.  Serve with a baked potato and vegetable—a tasty healthy meal is on the table.  You non-dieters could even switch out the baked potatoes for frozen French fries and throw together some delicious garlic bread as well.  Dinner is served!

Buy fresh (not frozen) chicken breasts.  You don’t want to refreeze meat that has already been frozen and thawed.  Cut into about 1 to 1.5 inch cubes, being sure to trim off all traces of fat.  Mix cornflake crumbs (either pre-crushed or crush your own) with seasoned salt, regular salt, and pepper.  (For every 1 cup of crumbs, mix in 1 teas. seasoned salt, ½ teas. regular salt, and ¼ teas. black pepper).

 

Dip nuggets in evaporated (canned) milk, then into crumbs, being sure to coat all sides.  Spread out on a cookie sheet that has been covered with foil and sprayed with cooking spray, giving them plenty of room to cook without touching.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, then test to make sure the biggest ones are just up to 165 degrees in the center.  You don’t want to overcook them, or they will be dried out after freezing and reheating.  If you don’t have a thermometer, cut the biggest one in half and look at it to make sure it’s done.  It may take another ten minutes or so to get them done.

Now freeze them, uncovered on the cookie sheet for an hour or two until frozen solid.  Place in a large zip-lock bag so you can open and take out a few at a time as you need them.

For reheating, put as many as you want on a baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and cook at 400 degrees just until heated through (about 15 minutes or so).  Dip in BBQ sauce, honey mustard, ranch, or whatever you want.

NOTE:  You can do the same process to make chicken patties for hot chicken sandwiches by splitting chicken breasts through the middle to make them thin enough, then coating in crumbs, cooking and freezing for later just like with the nuggets.  

*Originally distributed October 2013