Almond-Flax Encrusted Baked Chicken Nuggets

Instead of the usual breading and shallow frying, this recipe for Chicken Nuggets uses seasoned Almond meal and Flax meal coating on marinated chicken pieces, baked tender and served hot.

We tend to have a small bag of flax meal in the fridge handy, to sprinkle on yogurt or curries to add some fiber. Some raw almonds are also handy for a quick snack. Raw almonds with dried cherries is quite heavenly. Just grind up some raw almonds to make the almond meal. Season with some dried parsley, paprika, salt, or any other favorite seasoning.

Any favorite marinade works. I used soy sauce, Tabasco® hot sauce, a bit of canola oil, Italian seasoning. Marinate overnight if possible, or marinate in the morning and refrigerate it to be cooked for dinner that evening.

This is one of the easiest recipes, ready in 15 minutes or so, and thankfully, one of the dishes that kids absolutely relish. It is quite uplifting to hear, "Can I have more of this, Mama?"

A quick dip I like is equal parts ketchup and Sambal oelek - a nice sweet-hot sauce. Another is some Light Cesar dressing with spicy stone ground brown mustard.

Ingredients
Breading:
Almond meal, flax meal, paprika powder, dried parsley, salt as needed

Chicken nuggets:
Marinate the chicken breast in a favorite marinade overnight; drain and cut into strips  of fairly uniform size

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F
2. Press the chicken pieces in the breading mixture and lay them out in a single layer in a roasting pan, spray some cooking spray if desired
3. Bake at 425°F for about 15 minutes, checking half-way through and turning the pan as needed, till chicken is done
4. Serve warm with favorite dips