“In a 2002 lawsuit against McDonald’s, a judge commented that Chicken McNuggets are a “McFrankenstein” creation of various elements not used by the home cook.”
The 2004 documentary Super Size Me states “McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets were originally made from old chickens no longer able to lay eggs. These chickens are stripped down to the bone, and then ‘ground up’ into a chicken mash then combined with a variety of stabilizers and preservatives, pressed into familiar shapes, breaded and deep fried, freeze dried, and then shipped to a McDonald’s near you.”
Now, I ask you, is this really something you want your children eating? Whereas I cannot say that ALL pre-made chicken fingers are old meat, chemicals and preservatives, I can, however, say that a lot are! I will be kind here and refrain from causing hysteria regarding the chemicals and what they can actually do if consumed in large quantities. Instead, I would very much like this blog to be a positive one.
So, here we go. Chicken fingers are so incredibly easy to make at home. In fact, you can purchase chicken already sliced thin and ready to go. I would like to share a recipe with you that a friend has tested and loves. Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup Caesar salad dressing (organic)
1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a sheet pan with foil.
2. Combine cheese, panko and sesame seeds in a wide, shallow bowl.
3. Pour salad dressing into a bowl. Dredge chicken thighs in the salad dressing to coat.
4. Transfer chicken to panko mixture, pressing chicken to coat completely. Set on the pan and continue breading process with all fingers.
5. Bake 10 minutes then turn. Bake 5 minutes longer or until chicken is lightly golden brown. For easy eating, skewer each chicken finger on a bamboo stick and serve.
Now I know that this is a little bit more work than purchasing them already cooked from the fast food restaurant. But really! If you can only imagine how much damage they can potentially do to your children. You would definitely find a few hours on the weekend and make a ton of them. I’m serious – now think about this – take a couple hours and make a whole slew of them. Place them in the refrigerator. You can put them in your children’s lunch. They can use them for sandwiches during the week or your can reheat them and make a quick chicken parmesan. But, oh my goodness, and I don’t want to get melodramatic here, but these little bite-sized monstrosities at the fast food joints are sheer garbage, my friends.
Oh, and by the way, your children will thank you because the homemade good stuff is much tastier!
I was going to end it here, but ok – I can’t help myself. If you don’t believe me, purchase an order of chicken nuggets from McDonald’s. Place them in your pantry and let’s all see how long they last. I guarantee you’ll be shocked. Oh shoot – I meant to end on a positive note. Well, I positively advise you to make your own!
