Chicken Nuggets - OAMC

JillAZ's Note:

This is the way I make my chicken nuggets. My kids love these and I try to keep some on hand in the freezer for quick snacks and meals. The technique came from the 30 day gourmet cookbook. This is an estimate on the crumbs. I normally do a whole bunch of chicken at once and just kind of eyeball the amounts.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ cup ranch dressing (the bottled kind)
• 36 Ritz crackers (1 sleeve)
• ½ teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
3. Cut chicken into slices and then into "nugget" sized pieces.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the ranch dressing and the milk.
5. put chicken pieces into bowl with milk mixture.
6. Crush the ritz crackers into fine crumbs. I use my food processor.
7. Place cracker crumbs and paprika in a large zipper type baggie. Seal and shake to mix together.
8. Place a few of the chicken pieces into the bag of coating mix. Seal bag and shake to coat.
9. Place nuggets on prepared baking sheet.
10. Repeat until all chicken has been coated.
11. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is done.
12. Remove from oven and cool. I like to flash freeze before placing in a freezer bag and freezing.
13. To serve:.
14. Place frozen nuggets on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until heated through. You can heat in the microwave, but they don't turn out as crispy.
15. Note: Flash freezing just means to place the items on a baking sheet, not touching, and put in the freezer until firm. This keeps them from sticking together in one big clump.

Reviews

[Chef #1030163]

I make a similar recipe but use bread crumbs and grated Parmesan in equal portions. The round buttery crackers are very high in fat and that contributes to a "soggy" coating. I had the grandkids set up an "assembly line". One cut the chicken, another dipped in the ranch and the little one rolled them in the bread crumb mixture. They loved helping and now frequently request Ranch Nuggets.

[Chef #1275380]

Well, I was excited about these, but they just didn't turn out very crispy. Pretty soggy actually. My dad suggested mixing an egg with the ranch and that might help the texture. I liked the idea of the ranch flavor, though, so maybe all it needs is a little egg in the mix. The recipe was super easy and fast. We also tried to crisp them up in the toaster oven, and they did get a bit crispier, but also dried out. May be worth another try with some tinkering.

[Cooking Mom of 7]

I do alot of OAMC cooking and these were super easy and the kids loved them. I do use the store brand version of Ritz to cut down the cost. The first time I made these I ran short of crackers. I tossed in some Italian seasoned bread crumbs (its all I had) and they still came out good...it did alter the taste some but the kids didn't notice. I like the suggestion from nmj about the garlic and onion powder I may try this next time. I also made these by cutting them in strips to save time and work...kids loved them this way too. Much easier. I've made these several times and they have always been a hit. I make them with the store brand round crackers since they are less expensive than RItz. My kids never noticed the difference. I try to keep these in the freezer because they are so easy to heat up for quick lunches.