It's All About the Nuggets, Baby

I know I mentioned in a previous post that my kids are in danger of turning in to chicken nuggets. They love their nuggets, and this momma loves heating them up if we're having a busy day. I threw them away with my pantry makeover (after looking at the label and wondering if they were really that bad. They are) And I had been wondering what to make for lunches for the kids that don't have pesticides or lots of preservatives, and are easy for me or the babysitter to make. Matt mentioned in an earlier post about a fantastic chicken place that was at our farmer's market, Ottos' Chicken, and they sell all natural, free range chicken with no growth hormones or other nasty stuff. Tonight after work I made homemade nuggets out of the breasts and I was amazed by the difference. I made the nuggets last week from chicken I got in a big frozen bag from Meijer, and just the texture alone was different. The frozen ones were rubbery and had a lot of "yucky stuff" that I would slice off or wonder what exactly it was. These fresh ones had no bad stuff, they were seriously appetizing to look at and they cut so nice! I didn't have to saw at them with my knife. I made enough nuggets to freeze in 3 bags for 3 lunches this week, so I'm pretty excited about that. I had to sample one to make sure they were okay, and they are the most delicious nugget I have ever had! Seriously. And really I made enough for 4 lunches but they were so good that I had a few and Matt had a few. If you're wondering what the recipe is I'll put it at the bottom of the post.

I've also been wondering what to make for us for dinner, and ended up beating my head against a wall. Figuratively of course. I discussed my concerns with Matt and we came up with a great solution. When I grocery shop I spend all the $120 for the week and we usually have food that sits in the pantry for a long time...which is bad for several obvious reasons. I didn't think it would be possible to eat organically or naturally on our budget, and I was getting super frustrated. Here's what we came up with: the kids really aren't picky on what they eat, so for their main lunch course they will have homemade mac-n-cheese (I'll put that recipe on the bottom too if anyone cares, it's also super tasty!), a peanut butter sandwich using organic jelly (eventually my own homemade), organic bread and Natural Jiff (for the record I had one today for lunch and it was so good), chicken nuggets or a grilled cheese sandwich with organic bread and natural cheese. Not too shabby and if I'm only buying quantities for 7 lunches it's not too expensive. For breakfast they either have scrambled eggs, Stonyfield Farms organic yogurt (I got the blueberry in the big tub, it's SO good) with homemade granola (or Good Life Granola which is made in Holland and delicious), or oatmeal (I make it in the crock-pot and it's super tasty) Again, minimal costs. For dinners we found the grass-fed beef and chicken at the Holland Farmer's Market, and Meijer carries an organic line of food and lately when you buy 3 or more organic items you get a coupon for $3 off your next Meijer organic purchase. Pretty sweet. To fill in the sides and snacks we'll have fruits and veggies and potatoes that are grown in our backyard, or bought organically until we have some to pick. I also have added the graham crackers in to our weekly rotation and plan to experiment with more snacks too. Since apples are sprayed with like 23 different kinds of pesticides I will no longer be buying regular apple juice but will buy the Meijer Organic one, pour it in my pitcher, add water and make it last longer. So far so good! It might seem like eating healthy is impossible or way too expensive, but the reality is that it just takes careful planning and the end result is food that you can eat and feed your children and you won't feel guilty about it. Now on to the recipes:

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I got 1 pound of frozen chicken breasts from Otto's Chicken (it translated to 2 breasts)

-Cut the chicken into nuggets (or tenders) however big or small you want them.

-In one bowl beat an egg with a little milk (by beat I mean stir really fast with a spoon so it's a nice liquid)

-In another bowl mix bread crumbs, a little garlic salt, a little Italian seasoning and a little Parmesan cheese. I don't know the exact measurements, but like I said, you can't go wrong. I have a lot of bread crumbs and just pinches and dashes of the other stuff :-)

-Dip the chicken in the egg/milk mix and then coat it in the bread crumbs and place on a cookie sheet. I sprayed mine with Pam because they stuck the last time I made them.

-Bake them at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes flip them over and bake another 7 minutes.

Crock-Pot Oatmeal

I throw this in our crock-pot before bed and we wake up to delicious oatmeal! Perfect for mornings when Matt and I have to work, we just scoop it in to our little containers and there's still enough for the babysitter to feed the kids. I personally like brown sugar but you can play around with fruit and such.

-1 cup of oats, I used Meijer Naturals

-4 cups of water

-pinch of salt

-1/4 cup of brown sugar

Heat on LOW overnight, and in the morning stir in some milk if you need to and add more brown sugar if you want and enjoy! I bought a smaller crock-pot for the oatmeal because I hate cleaning our big one and I was afraid it would all stick to the sides. They sell great little ones at Van Wieren Hardware on the north side for $18.

Mac and Cheese

-14 ounces of chicken broth

-1 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni (I used organic ones)

-3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

-2 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese

Put the chicken broth in a pan over medium high heat. When the broth begins to boil, stir in the macaroni. Bring it back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes (or until the macaroni is tender). Remove the pan from the stove but DON'T drain it. Stir in the cheddar cheese and sprinkle the Parmesan over top just before serving (you can skip this step if you want).

Enjoy!

Keely