Nutritious chicken nuggets

 

These are such a hit in our household. Our preschooler calls them "nutritious chicken nuggets," to differentiate them from McD's chicken nuggests. I would guess she probably prefers McD's. If I were four, I probably would too.

This is an easy meal to make that only requires about 30 minutes from start to finish. The only reason I don't make this meal more often is because chicken breast gets expensive. And because I don't really like to handle raw meat. 

Here is the original recipe. I found it because I was looking for dairy and soy-free breadcrumbs. I do like the taste and texture of Panko. I would probably start using it even if I weren't dairy and soy-free.

Here is my lazy adaptation of the recipe:

• Heat the oven to broil. Close bedroom doors so the smoke alarm doesn't get all uppity. 
• Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces
• Mix 3 big globs (~ 1 cup) of mayonnaise with a glob (~1/3 cup) of dijon mustard. Pour in a fair amount of agave syrup (~1/3 cup). Shake in several shakes of hot sauce (~2-3 TB). 
• Pour the panko into a second bowl
• Dip chicken into mayo into panko and place on a cookie sheet
• Broil ~8-10 minutes on each side. I monitor them chicken closely and flip and/or remove when browned. I want the chicken to be well cooked but I don't want to burn

Serve with baked potatoes and frozen veggies for a well-rounded meal.

Note: I have run out of agave syrup and don't want to make a special grocery trip for it. I now use maple syrup, which I also like.

ETA: I should have also said that I really like this meal a lot. The chicken is juicy with a crunch (if that makes sense) and there is a wonderful sweet and sassy taste.