Homemade Chicken Nuggets with Beet Puree Batter

Here is a fabulous recipe (and one we’ve had great success with our increasingly picky eater) from Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious, Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.

1 C whole-wheat, white, or panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs

1/2 C flaxseed meal

1 Tb grated Parmesan

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 C broccoli or spinach or sweet potato or beet puree (easy to make ahead of time when produce is fresh, then freeze in small batches until you’re ready to use)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or tenders, rinsed, dried, and cut into small chunks

1/2 tsp salt

non-stick cooking spray

1 Tb olive oil

1. In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, Parmesan, paprika, garlic and onion powder, mixing well with fingers.

2.In a shallow bowl, mix the vegetable puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.

3. Sprinkle the chunks with the salt. Dip the chunks into the egg mixture and then toss them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.

4. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet in a single layer, bring careful not to crowd the pan and cook until crisp and golden on one side, 3-4 minutes. Then turn and cook until the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over, 4-5 minutes longer. (Cut into a piece to check that it’s cooked through.) Serve warm.

-I find it makes sense to make a large batch at once and then freeze individual servings for your little one.  This makes for an easy, quick and healthy meal.

“Good things last”

Our Great Uncle Don lives by that mantra.  And he knows, having been, for almost four decades, a buyer of furniture and art.  From Louisville, Kentucky – home of the Mint Julip and a refined southern comfort – he travelled the world each year, from Asia to Africa and all the way across Europe.  He has a finely tuned eye.  And his mantra makes sense.

In his eighties now, he doesn’t travel with the same aplomb.  But he loves Peanut Butter Cookies and we baked and sent to him some treats: good things that won’t last.

This recipe for peanut butter sandwich cookies is an adaptation of “Not Nutter Butter” from Nancy Silverton’s  Sandwich Book.  It made 52 individual cookies, or 26 sandwich cookies.

In a medium skillet combine: 4 oz unsalted butter, 1 vanilla bean (or about 1 tsp vanilla extract), and 2 Cups rolled oats and toast them over a medium heat until they are becoming caramelized:

Meanwhile, cream together: 8 ounces unsalted butter, 2 tsp baking soda, and 2 tsp kosher salt until the butter is softened.  Then add 3/4 Cup white sugar and 3/4 Cup brown sugar and mix until light and fluffy.

Next add 3/4 cup peanut butter (we used Whole Foods No Salt bulk peanut butter, but you could use any other brand.  If using natural peanut butter pour off the excess oil before adding.)  And then mix in the toasted oats and 2 1/4 Cup unbleached all-purpose flour.  Blend until just combined.

Using a coffee scoop we portioned the cookies and then pressed them down, gently, to flatten them out:

You might add the cross-hatch marks with a fork.

Bake the cookies on parchment paper at 350 degrees for about 17 minutes, or until just beginning to darken on the edges; we like them best when still just chewy in the middle.  They will firm up as they cool.

For the filling, combine 3 ounces unsalted butter, 2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, 1/2 Cup bulk all natural no-salt peanut butter, and 1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp almond butter, unsalted.  Blend until smooth and creamy, and then spread the filling between two cookies.