OK, OK...YES! I make my children frozen Dino Buddies for dinner...often!
All these months I've kept that secret pent-up, wishing I were the perfect food blogging Mommy - but the truth is - while my husband and I are dining on deliciously pleasing Moroccan Stews, Spicy Pork Tacos and Jumbo Lump Crab... my young ....on occasion....are enjoying their fresh from the freezer, fried and then oven-baked chicken nuggets, all molded into clever little prehistoric creatures!
In Dino Buddies defense (and mine) the packaging reads, 100% all natural, no preservatives and the fun, colorful box provides a wonderful opportunity for a brief (yet age appropriate) vocabulary lesson. Dinner time (with a two and four year old) takes on a whole new vibe when reviewing such interesting words as... herbivore, carnivore, pangea and earth destroying asteroid!
But this post is NOT about Dino Buddies...because tonight I whipped up the little beauties above from scratch!
Now if you'll excuse me... I'm off to call my friends (those that don't read my blog...and so the term "friend" is used extremely lightly) and subtly drop a line or two about these homemade chicken strips my children adored!
I can hear myself now, "What are they called you say? You make your little ones Dino-bits? Buds? Buddies? No, I've actually never heard of them...?" ;)
Simple Homemade Chicken Strips
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3-5 inch pieces (about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Olive oil for pan frying
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300. Mix together flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cheese. Lightly beat the two eggs in a small separate bowl.
Dredge chicken strips in four mixture, then dip in egg wash, then back to flour mixture, coating well and shaking off excess.
In a large pan with olive oil over medium heat, fry up the chicken strips in batches and cook until lightly browned all around (about 3-4 minutes). Adjust heat setting and add oil as needed.
Place in oven to cook through (about 5-8 minutes). Serve hot with dipping sauces.
18 comments:
Its always discouraging when you slave over a gourmet dinner only to have your child gag at the very idea of a soft carrot in your tangine. I think often of that Natalie merchant song "Give them what they want." Follow that up with a crisp glass of chardonnay and suddenly, it doesn't really matter so much.
They look SO good..I bet adults love them as much as the kids!
I've made my kid homemade nuggets before. She told me they were gross and wanted the ones from the red bag. So I'm guilty, too :)
Your version, however, sounds a lot better than the ones I made. I might have to give them a 2nd try, using your recipe. Heck I want them for lunch myself :)
Haha, I can totally relate to the guilt that convenience food brings :) These look awesome! Indeed, they look DINO-mite!
Whole wheat flour even... color me impressed! When I think of all the processed chicken strips my kids ate it makes me sick. I wish I could go back and do it all over again... the healthy way!
Are we twins??? LOL, same thing at my house! You have me laughing over here
I know exactly what you mean. Here I am making marvellous dishes and my 8 year old son asks for delivery. They will grow up eventually. In the meantime you did a great job with these nuggets.
these look awesome our favorite game day snack!
I challenge anybody who has a 2-yr old and a 4-yr to make breakfast, lunch & dinner from scratch every day. And for those who do, I bow low to them. Then again, it is so true that more often than not, it is just as quick and simple to make a homecooked meal than its ready made, processed counterpart. So we will just keep on trying and serve them something store bought every once in a while in between, no?
Great for you to do it from scratch it is always better to know exactly what ingredients you are giving your children!
Try telling your 37 year old boyfriend that he can't have dino buddies for dinner and see how that goes over!! LOL I gotta try making these so he won't buy those stupid frozen ones anymore! Thanks for the great recipe!
Too funny! The look great and wish I would've made your version for the boys years ago!
These look really good. I must admit to keeping the "dino" strips in the freezer when my grandsons were really young. It's a bit like blue box mac n' cheese. Kids like what they like. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary
i've actually never tried the "dino" strips before..not that it's a lost really. your looks so yummy and easy to put together, thank you for sharing this.
Oh I love that you made your own! Looks great!
LOL!
Your fake dino strips look the business ... yummm!
I think my kids still eat those :)
Nice job with the homemade ones!
I'm totally cracking up...this is soooo me! I spend hours making this amazing meal and my kid eats dino nuggets or Ramen...hahah, love it!
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