Finger Lickin' Good

I have a confession to make .. a major one. First, let me say that I certainly have enjoyed a couple staple crockpot chicken dishes of late, and will continue to have them on meal rotation, but when it comes to 'real' cooking of chicken, I'm at a loss. The idea of touching and trimming, and the paranoia of knowing when the meat is cooked and safe, yet not dried out and stringy is a fine art I am far from mastering. In fact, I'd say that the last time I really 'cooked' chicken, was near 10 years ago. I know, right? Well, we really didn't eat meat for most of that time, and when we started dabbling with some, the expense of organic, coupled with my husband's reluctance and my ineptness, left us with few real, honest attempts. Today, I tried and conquered. The idea was a simple one, but it's a start. And, I must thank MOMables for the inspiration of their healthy chicken nuggets.

In my version, I used chicken breast tenderloins that I cut into nuggety size pieces. Then, I mixed 1/4 c plain bread crumbs, 1/2 c panko bread crumbs, 1/8 c Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp creole seasoning, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/8 tsp pepper together to coat the chicken pieces. Just like MOMables, I lined a baking sheet with parchment to lay the pieces on, then sprayed with cooking spray, and baked at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Mine turned out nice and crispy and browned. Oh, and they were yummy, too!

Apples, cheddar/mozzarella cheese, seasoned rice, MOMables style chicken nuggets, barbeque sauce, cucumber, tomatoes, and carrots.

In this lunch...