Keshni Nuggets (Potato Chip Nuggets)

Some good news to start off this post: Ninja is now doing long walks (still on leash and not at the dog park)- but he is able to walk for 45 minutes with no hopping or limping! YAY! And you can tell he is really antsy and has so much energy, so we even did some brief running "spurts." And he is also able to support weight on that leg, if you lift the other (good) leg up :) I am so excited for him. I cannot wait to take him back to the dog park. Truth be told-- I miss the people at my dog park, and having random chats about life and watching Ninja have fun with his favorite doggie friends.

Okay, so you are probably wondering what are Keshni Nuggets? Keshni is my sister-in-law and about 3 years ago she made this really yummy recipe for my niece, who can sometimes be a picky eater. (on a side note: if you think I'm a good "chef" you should meet my sister-in-law, and best of all- she makes AMAZING cakes!). I saw her making them, and was immediately intrigued: thinking "Who would have thunk!?" But at the time, I did not try any, because they were for my niece's lunch, and stealing food from a two-year old is just not cool ;) Well later, for a Christmas get-together, she made them again, and this time I got to try them- De-freakin'-licious! And I was not the only one that loved them :)

When I came back to Houston, I just had to make them for the hubby! I knew how to make them, but I had no idea what they were called- so whenever I made them, I just kept referring to them as "Keshni Nuggets." Well, the other day I realized that I had not made these in awhile and that I never shared this recipe with you all. It is a simple, kid friendly meal that can be made as "healthy" as you want, and I guarantee that it will be a hit! I cannot imagine how kids and hubbies will not love this recipe! And since, it was shared to me by my sister-in-law, I will share them to you as I know them: Keshni Nuggets- chicken breast pieces coated in potato chips :) Yes, I know, amazing!

KESHNI NUGGETS

Adapted from Keshni and Paula Deen

INGREDIENTS  

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees

4 chicken breasts, cut into large cubes

11.5 oz. or larger-bag of potato chips*

1 egg, beaten

1/8 c. buttermilk**

*You can choose any flavor you like (sour cream, BBQ) and you can choose regular or baked (healthier). I used BBQ but sour cream also taste yummy!

**Can substitute with regular milk

DIRECTIONS

Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Set aside. Dump, potato chips into a large freezer bag. Then close bag and crush potato chips into small crumbs. Do not use a food processor as you do not want the chips to be fine grained, but instead crumbly (it will ad texture to your nuggets). Dump potato chip crumbs in flat tray or dish. In a bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Grease or place baking mat on large baking tray. 

Set up station as follows: chicken pieces, egg/milk mixture, chips, and baking tray. Using one hand, take a piece of chicken and dip it into the egg/milk mixture, entirely submerging the piece of chicken. Then place the chicken in the chip crumbs. Using your other hand, coat the chicken with potato chip crumbs and place on baking tray. Repeat until all chicken pieces are coated. Depending on how you coat you may run out of potato chips first (if so, just freeze remaining chicken). 

Bake nuggets for 18-20 minutes (until no longer pink in the center). Allow to cool and serve with favorite dipping sauce (i.e., ranch, ranch-jalapeno, honey-mustard). 

Enjoy,

Chika