chicken nugget factory.

we have a problem here. somehow - i don't know how - but somehow we were laden with the pickiest eaters i have ever come across. it's to the point of madness. they have these pre-conceived notions in their darling little heads about how it's too be, what it will taste like and that they won't like it even before the plate has hit the table. something at one time they have loved - ie. strawberries - will now only be consumed in a strawberry slush not whole as they once were. vegetables are sneared at and the only fruit i can get my daughter to eat is purple applesauce (i'm not joking). my son is a bit better - whole apples and grapes are requested over chips & he will try something new once and a while and then calls himself a good kid for doing so the little darling. but it is getting exhausting. there are 5 dinners in rotation and when you count the weekends there is bound to be doubling up. they don't seem to mind but it drives me bonkers. i can cook! i can cook them delicious foods! having owned a specialty foods shop i have a trick or two up my sleeve but no one is interested so i end up making two dinners every night and sometimes - brace yourselves - three. it's in this reason i try very hard to stay away from pre-made meals because if there is a limited choice i would like that choice to be as whole as possible. more work for me but for this particular task it is worth it.

sometimes when that question of "what's for dinner?" comes wafting across the room i cringe and stay silent because i'm planning on planting something new at them and don't want to hear about it for 20 minutes before it has happened. we did have a breakthrough the other week though - aydan will eat cheese pizza! big deal around here. but get this - she knows what goes on one, she helped me make it & she loves macaroni and cheese, still with me? so on a cheese pizza there is tomato sauce and in mac & cheese there is pasta - still here? - so why pray tell will she not eat pasta with tomato sauce?? i don't expect her to eat it with gook inside or all spicy but just plain would be nice. nope, not going to happen. the madness i tell you. and this is every night!

so when i came across this recipe from dinner: a love story i pounced on it. she does her's in whole cutlets but i have opted for nuggets plus i have played around with the seasoning. there just something about a nugget that grabs a kid more. i bought a wack load of chicken breasts (mega sale price - awesome!) and got to work.

it took an afternoon - i made a lot - but it was worth it. 1 out of 2 loved them and 2 was still on the fence. not a total slam dunk but complete progress and in this house that is saying something. i have a few more tricks up my sleeve and **finger's crossed** hopefully we can expand our menu. one day.

chicken nuggets with corn flake crust

take 4 large chicken breast - boneless, skinless - or two pounds of smaller breasts and pound them out. think of all the crying, whining and screaming that has filled your day and instead of taking out on your husband/partner treat the pour chicken to a good hammering instead. cut up your pounded breasts into the size nuggets that you would like. now get your prep going: place 1 cup of seasoned (salt and peppered by yours truly) all-purpose flour onto a plate or low sided bowl. place 5 eggs - beaten - in a low sided bowl.  place two cups of seasoned corn flake crumbs (i grind large flakes in the food processor being very liberal with the salt and pepper) on a plate or low sided bowl and get to work. first drench your chicken in flour, then dip in the egg and coat in the flakes. keep going until you have done all the chicken. now you can one of two directions. 1) place them all on a baking tray - using wax paper to separate your layers - place in the freezer to individually freeze them or 2) cook immediately. to cook immediately: pre-heat oven to 425F and cook for 5 minutes per side or you can also pan-fry them in a little olive oil about 4-5 minutes per side. from frozen: pre-heat oven to 425F and place on tray and cook for 10 minutes per side.