Chicken nugget addiction….It affects over 60% of children under 10 years old. I’ve witnessed this sight many times in my life. It’s almost like McDonald’s/Burger King/KFC have injected a secret love potion into each nugget that just keeps kids constantly requesting more and more.  (I just made up that statistic for dramatic effect)

(Read this crazy article about a chicken nugget addiction…Click Here)

Here’s the obvious question…What do we do about this addiction? Nugget Rehab? possibly…but the absolute best solution is:

Make your own chicken nuggets. 

Why?

1. You know what’s inside of them
2. They are HEALTHY
3. They are gluten-free
4. they only take 30 minutes

You can find my Chicken (or turkey) nugget recipe below. It seems like ground turkey is easier to find in the grocery store…and it’s a bit cheaper…so feel free to make these chicken nuggets into turkey nuggets! (is it just me or does saying “turkey nuggets” out loud sound weird…)

Before I reveal the recipe to you though…Let me talk a little bit about my condiment of choice.

Remember when Heinz came out with that green ketchup? Seriously….I LOVED that stuff as a kid. My mom wouldn’t buy if for me that often, so when I did get my hands on the green slimy stuff…man I went all out. My hotdogs were loaded! Was the reason I liked it so much because it resembled slime? I mean as a young kid…slime was pretty cool. So that’s a possibly. But all I know is that I was attracted to this green ketchup concoction, not because it tasted good…but because it was just plain awesome and weird at the same time. So I was thinking yesterday…and I decided that I want to experience this feeling again.

The window of opportunity to buy this product was short. I can’t remember if my mom came to her senses and stopped buying it for me, or it all got shipped off to the world of forgotten and failed condiments first. But I’m going to bring back green ketchup…by making it healthy.

Green Ketchup will live on!

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground dark meat chicken or dark meat turkey

1/2 lb ground white meat chicken or white meat turkey

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, grated

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 eggs

2 tbsp. milk

1/2 cup rice flour

How to

1. Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees
2.  Sauté the chopped onion, red pepper, and garlic in the olive oil. It will take about 5 minutes on medium high heat. Transfer them into a small bowl once they are done and let them come to room temperature.
3. These chicken nuggets really come together using a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor you can just mix the ground turkey or chicken together with your hands. you’ll end up with more of a meatloaf consistency instead of a nugget consistency, but they will still taste amazing.
4. Put your cooled onion, red pepper, and garlic into the bottom of the food processor. add in 1 egg and then pulse about 5 times. Now add the ground chicken or turkey and pulse about 15 times or until it really comes together. The purpose of processing the turkey/chicken is to create…almost an emulsion with the meat. It will cook into nugget form and texture very easily…that is loved and recognized by kids! (and it’s healthy remember!)
5. Once the chicken or turkey mixture is ready, just transfer from the food processor to a bowl. Then in two smaller bowls, put the rice flour and the remaining egg. You’re setting up a little breading station for these nuggets! Whisk the egg together with the two tbsp. of milk and then get ready to make the actual chicken/turkey nuggets.
6. Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, or a tablespoon measure…form about 16, 2 tbsp. balls out of the chicken or turkey mix. You might want to spray your hand with a bit of non stick spray, because this can be a sticky job! But once you have the balls made, you can start the breading and baking process.
7. The best way to put a nice crust on the outside of these nuggets is to drop the first ball into the rice flour to get a very light coating on the outside. Tap off the excess and then flatten the ball into nugget form. (you can really shape these anyway that you would like) Now to continue “crusting” just place the nugget into the egg wash, covering the outside in a thin layer of egg…and them immediately transfer it right back into the rice flour for another light coating. Repeat this process with all of the nuggets!
8. Place all of the crusted nuggets onto the top of a greased broiler pan, a pizza pan, or a metal cooling rack on top of a sheet tray. You want a baking vessel that allows the dry oven air to hit the chicken/turkey from every angle to properly crisp them all! Then bake at 425 degrees for 20- 25 minutes, flipping them halfway through the cooking time.
9. Once these nuggets are beautiful and done…just let them cool slightly and serve!

But wait….You need ketchup right?

Ingredients for Green Ketchup

• 10 oz. golden (yellow) cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. Agave Nectar
• 2 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother)
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 6 oz. bag of spinach
• salt and pepper to taste

How To

1. This ketchup comes together very easily! You can use a food processor or a blender. So to start just process or blend all of your golden cherry tomatoes and then transfer the puree to a saucepan. (I leave the skins and seeds in this ketchup, but feel free to strain the mixture before you put it into the pan.)
2. Add the agave, apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion powder, and tomato paste to the pan with the tomato puree. Stir and then bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Once the mixture has cooked, let it cool slightly and then transfer it back into the food processor. Add all of your spinach as well as salt and pepper…and then pulse until the green ketchup comes together! Put it into a squirt bottle and place it in the fridge for a healthy and fun ketchup whenever you need it! I no longer miss green ketchup!

If you have any questions about these recipes, tweet me at anytime!