Baked Oatmeal

If you've ever wanted to feed your kids a soft oatmeal cookie in a bowl and call it breakfast (and feel good about it), here's how.

Stir together:

3 c rolled oats (not the quick-cooking ones)
1/2 c brown sugar (could lessen by 1/2 if you wanted)
1/2 c raisins
2 t cinnamon
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Whisk together:

1 c milk
1/2 c oil (or applesauce)
2 t vanilla
4 eggs

Mix it all together pour into a baking dish, cover (important, unless you want a crispy top), and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  I usually give it a good stir when I pull it out of the oven then put the lid back on to keep it hot.  Kiddo likes milk over his.  We usually serve fruit with it.  When I'm feeling out-of-character I'll add chocolate chips.  I'm never out-of-character enough to add nuts, but some people like it that way.

Once upon a time I had a recipe but I've altered it enough over the years that the original is irrelevant and I'm really not sure where it even is.  It did suggest using an 8x8 square baking dish.  I've never had one of those so I use an equivalent round white Corning dish.

Actual Chicken Nuggets

I loathe handling chicken.  To the point where I nearly will not serve chicken to my family because I cannot stand touching it.  Raw or cooked.  I thank God regularly for the invention of kitchen tongs but never moreso than when trying to bring myself to deal with raw chicken.  HOWEVER two things have potentially changed my life in regard to chicken.

First:  Last week I bought a KitchenAid mixer.  I know.  I feel like a real adult now.  Even more than a few years ago when I bought a vacuum cleaner for the first time ever.  But this is relevant to chicken because I learned from Kirsten that I can shred chicken in my KitchenAid!  Throw the whole cooked breast in there, turn it on, and let it do its thing.  I love shredded chicken for soup but having to deal with the chicken first is painful.  Truth be told, after a year of thinking about it I finally knew exactly which model & color I wanted but still hadn't made the leap until I saw on her Facebook page that she'd shredded chicken in it.  Done and done.

Second:  This recipe.  Yes, I have to handle raw chicken to make it; but I've discovered that it's not worth it for me to keep raw chicken in my freezer because (a) I never use it and (b) buying it day-of means it's less drippy and that's half the battle.  So I've learned to buy it fresh, and that makes all the difference.  As in, less than 3 hours before the meal its needed for.  I can use my nifty kitchen tongs (and yes, I've become picky about tongs...some are definitely better than others) to pull it out of the package, pat it dry with a paper towel, and slice it into strips for the dip & roll in this recipe before it ever gets gloppy.

So.  Chicken nuggets.  Real ones.  As in, it's perfectly healthy stuff.  And it's pretty easy.  Give her some practice and A can make dinner for y'all with this one.  Click here for the original recipe.  I came across it on Pinterest and after I rolled my eyes I read the recipe and realized it was actually a good one.  Clearly I'm not terribly given to chicken nuggets.  Nor to breaded stuff generally.  But it was delish!  My methodology is slightly different but not much.  Cheers!

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1 c flour

2 t ground paprika

2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

2 large eggs

1 c bread crumbs

Cooking spray

Pat the chicken dry & cut into strips (or chunks if you prefer).

Place the flour & spices in a large Ziploc bag, seal it, give it a toss to blend.  Then toss your chicken strips into the bag, close it up, and give them a good whirl to coat all the chicken.  Remove each piece from the bag, shaking them a bit to remove excess flour.  Put them all on a plate & toss the bag with flour.

Whisk your eggs together in a bowl.
Pour your breadcrumbs into a second bowl.
Set your baking sheet next to that.  A three-step assembly line here.

Roll each piece of chicken in the egg mixture.  Then roll in breadcrumbs.  Then place on a baking sheet.  Do that to each piece individually.  Once they're all done, spray the tops with cooking spray.  Bake 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Turn them over (with your God-given tongs), spray the tops again, and bake another 10 minutes.

Done.

Tips:  I use one (repeat: one) hand to deal with the wet parts, I periodically rinse my fingers & dry them well, and I keep extra breadcrumbs nearby.  The breadcrumbs start to stick to my fingers and I don't like clumpy breading.  Toward the end of the process there aren't quite enough truly dry crumbs in the bowl to make me happy so I add more.  Personal preference.