Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Chicken nuggets make a great snack or even a great addition to a dinner or lunch. This recipe is very kid friendly… your kids are sure to be pleased with these chicken nuggets. The chicken is first rolled in flour, dipped in egg and then rolled in a bread crumb mixture. For the seasonings, you can tweak it to your taste. If you want a little heat, add some cayenne pepper or chili seasoning into the flour mixture. With this recipe I will give you two options of cooking the chicken nuggets – deep frying or baking in the oven. I deep fried them just because it’s faster but for those of you that don’t have a deep fryer, the oven works just as good if not better. Serve with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” chunks)
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 egg
• ½ cup dry Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter (melted, if baking in the oven)
• Oil (if deep frying)

Method:

1. On a plate combine flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a small bowl beat egg and milk. On another plate combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
2. Coat chicken strips first in the flour mixture, then dip in the egg mixture and then roll in the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat until all strips are coated.
   
   
   
3. If deep frying – Heat deep fryer to 360 degrees and deep fry chicken nuggets in batches for 6 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
4. If baking in the oven – Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken strips on a baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until strips are no longer pink inside.

(Makes 4 servings)

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Cinnamon Bread

 I'm concerned, cinnamon bread was made for breakfast. I can't wait for morning! Yummy!


Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. shortening
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. sour milk or buttermilk
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Method:

1. In a large bowl, blend shortening and sugar; stir in eggs and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to shortening mixture alternately with milk. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a cup; set aside. In a greased 9"x5" loaf pan, alternate four layers of batter and sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cool on a wire rack. Makes one loaf.
   
   
2. I used butter-flavored shortening. It's all I had and it can't hurt, right? I blended the shortening and sugar together with a mixer.
   
   
   
3. Then, I stirred in two eggs that I beat in a measuring cup.
   
   
4. Stir together the shortening mixture and set aside.
   
   
5. Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
   
   
6. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the shortening mixture.
   
   
7. I finally have an easy system down with this "alternating" process. I add 1/3 of the flour mixture.
   
   
8. Followed by half of the buttermilk. I repeat the step one more time and finish with the last 1/3 of flour.
   
   
9. This is a thick batter.
   
   
10. I mixed together the sugar and cinnamon. Yummy!
    
    
11. I started by adding 1/4 of the batter to the loaf pan.
    
    
12. Then, I sprinkled with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. I repeated the process three more times.
    
    
13. End with a nice coating of cinnamon-sugar. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.
    
    
14. Allow to cool on a rack, if you can.
    
    
15. I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow!
    
    
16. Enjoy!!!

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Honey Bun Cake

I love the smell of honey buns in the morning. I occasionally buy a box of Little Debbie honey buns. They're delicious and I can throw them in my lunch bag for a quick breakfast at work. This recipe for honey bun cake has been around for a while and I finally got around to making it recently. I love recipes that serve as both breakfast and dessert. This cake would be perfect to serve a crowd at an early morning meeting. Just serve with some freshly brewed coffee and a fruit tray. This recipe is from Gooseberry Patch's Homemade Christmas, copyright 2010.

Ingredients: 

• 18-1/2 oz. pkg. yellow cake mix
• 3/4 c. oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 8-oz. sour cream
• 1 c. brown sugar, packed
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract 
• 1/4 c. milk

Method:

1. Stir dry cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream together until well mixed. Pour batter into a greased 13"x9" baking pan; set aside. Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over batter; swirl into batter with a table knife. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Whisk together remaining ingredients; pour onto cake while still warm. Serves 12.
2. I started out with a butter recipe cake mix.
   
   
3. Add the oil.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the cake mixture.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Finally, add one cup of sour cream and stir the batter together until well blended.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Pour into a greased 9"x13" baking pan.
   
   
   
   
   
7. The topping ingredients: brown sugar and cinnamon.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Sprinkle on top of the batter.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Swirl, swirl, twist and twirl...jump up and down like a flying squirrel.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 40 minutes. I start checking for doneness at 30 minutes. While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. Spread the glaze on while the cake is still warm.
11. Breakfast and dessert are covered...
    
    
    
    
    
12. Enjoy!

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Veg pizza in 2 versions (Normal & Low Fat)

I was postphoning this pizza post just for the reason that I had to write more ;) Also I wanted to compile all the pics with stepwise, and the variation that I had clicked each time I made Pizza. And with no doubt this recipe is a keeper but I made adjustments here and there each time and finally found the recipe for perfect pizzas, So no more pizzas from restaurants. I have tried with 2 different toppings and here am giving u both for normal as well as low fat version.

Ingredients for Normal Pizza :

• All purpose flour/Maida  - 1 & 1/2 cups [My 1 cup measures 200 gms]
• Active dry yeast  - 1 tbsp [but not a heaped one]
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Sugar  - 1/2 tblsp
• Salt - 3/4 tsp
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp

For the topping :

• Pizza/Pasta Sauce - 1 tbsp
• Tomato Sauce - 1/2 tbsp
• Onion - 1/2 chopped
• Capsicum - 1/2 chopped
• Grated mozarella cheese - 2 tbsp or as required to cover the topping
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

For Paneer tikka marinating:

• Paneer - 10 to 12 small cubes
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Curd - 1.5 tbsp

Method:

Boil the water first in a wide vessel and keep aside. Now add milk, oil, sugar, salt to boiled water and mix well till sugar dissolves. Now add yeast to the milk oil solution.

Mix well and keep aside for 5-7 mins stirring occassionally. After sometime you can see the yeast completely dissolved as shown below. Now add the flour.

After adding the flour, gather to get a smooth pilable dough. No need to knead completely just bring it together that is enough.Keep covered with a wet cloth till an hour or 2, preferably in a warm place for best results.

When u check after an hr, the dough would have been raised(I wouldnt say its exactly doubled) .Now again punch it down incase for any airbubbles and then keep aside. By the time cut paneer into small cubes add curd, salt, turmeric, chilli, coriander, garam masala powder and lemon juice - Marinate it for 15mins. I usually dont roast the paneer seperately but attimes when I have time in hand I do it and yes this time I toasted it in a tawa with little oil till golden brown. You can also just keep the paneer along with the topping to bake without toasting.

Grease a baking tray with aluminium foil [I didnt dust flour or add oil] . Keep the dough on the tray, Now roll the dough a little thick as 1 to 1.5 inches and fold the ends as shown in the below pic. Just fold the ends inside and press it till u get a small depthness.Prick the base with fork to make sure of even cooking [I forget it everytime ;)]. Spread the pizza sauce, I used the readymade maggi pizza sauce.

Arrange the toppings - I've used paneer, capsicum and onion here.Then grate the cheese till it covers topping.Just add tomato sauce on top this is purely optional but it tastes good with it. Then sprinkle pepper powder. Preheat the oven for 210 degree Celsius and bake for 15- 20 mins,till the base turns golden brown.If you cut a tiny area with a knife, u can see if its cooked fully by seeing the bread like texture.Mine gets done usually in 20mins, check at 15mins then proceed with the extra 5mins.

Cut the pizzas with pizza cutter/knife, make wedges and enjoy hot and yummy pizza :)

The topping combination is endless.To me pizzas are only if they served from Pizzahut but sure homemade pizzas changed my mind :)

Low Fat Version Ingredients :

• Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Maida - 1/2 cup
• Active dry yeast - 3/4 tblsp
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 tblsp
• Salt - 3/4 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp

For the topping:

• Tomato Sauce - 1tbsp
• Onion - 1 chopped
• Capsicum - 1/2 chopped
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chilli powder 1/2 tsp [You can alternatively use chilli flakes also]
• Cheese - 2 tsp grated
• Paneer cubes - 6 to 8

Low Fat version of Veg Pizza with thin crust/base

Except for the ingredients the method is the same just give an extra 3-5 mins while baking as wheat flour takes a little more time than maida.

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Whole-Wheat French Bread

 Ingredients:

• 3 cups of durum whole-wheat flour
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp vital wheat gluten
  (If you don't have vital wheat gluten, use 3 cups all-purpose and 2 cups whole-wheat flour and skip the gluten)
• 1 1/2 tbsp salt
• 2 cups of mildly warm water
• 2 1/2 tsp yeast

Method:

1. Mix the yeast, 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of water in a large bowl. Let stand for a few minutes until the mixture becomes quite bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Now add the vital wheat gluten, remaining flour, salt and remaining water. Mix to combine and then knead by hand about 10 minutes or in a stand mixer, on medium speed, about six minutes, until you have a very smooth, elastic and resilient dough.
   
   
3. Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning over once to coat the top with oil. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise at room temperature. (In winter, I'd leave it in a cold oven with the light on).
   
   
   
4. After two hours, the dough would have more than doubled. Punch it down to remove all the gases in it, then divide it into two. Let the dough stand, covered with a kitchen towel, around 10 minutes before shaping.
5. Take one ball of dough and punch it down with your fist to release all the gases and air. You will have a six-inch round when you're done.
   
   
   
6. Now, roll over more than half of the dough and, using your knuckles or the heel of your hand, press it down into the bottom.
   
   
   
7. Repeat two more times, rolling the dough over each time, until you have a cylinder. Each time, press in the seams with your knuckles or the heel of your hand. If needed, at the end, pinch in the seam with your fingers to seal it. You will now have a cylinder with tapering ends, about six inches in length.
   
   
   
8. Now using the palms of your hands and fingers and without applying any pressure, roll the dough until you have a roll about 12 inches in length. The roll should be even all over and taper off at the ends-- apply a little pressure when you reach the ends to create the tapering shape.
   
   
   
9. Repeat this with the other ball of dough.
   
   
   
10. Place the two loaves on a baking sheet lightly greased with oil and sprinkled with cornmeal, at least four inches apart because they will expand and rise.
11. Cover with a floured kitchen towel and set aside for an hour.
12. With a very sharp knife or razor, and very quickly, make three long, diagonal cuts in the top of the bread. (I used a serrated steak knife as you can see in the picture, but if you're not practiced at this, use a very sharp, thin razor blade because you don't want to deflate the dough)
    
    
    
13. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Five minutes before baking, spray about 1/2 cup water into the oven to create a steamy environment. (The water helps create a crusty loaf and also it creates a moist environment where the bread bakes slowly, creating more flavor).
14. Place the bread in the oven and close the door. Five minutes later, spray more water into the oven.
15. Bake about 30 minutes until the loaves are golden-brown. Lift up the loaf to check that it separates easily from the baking sheet.
    
    
    
16. Let stand at least 15 minutes on a rack before cutting.
    
    
    

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