Secret Recipe Club: Baked Honey Chicken Nuggets with Dipping Sauce

My blog assignment for this month's Secret Recipe Club was The Pajama Chef, which is written by a lady named Sarah.  This is kind of off topic, but have you ever met someone and felt like you've seen them before?  I swear, Sarah looks exactly like someone I know, but I can't think of who it is.  I even wondered if Sarah and I have met before at some point!

In any case, Sarah's blog has lots of yummy recipes.  So many that I actually made three recipes from her blog this month!  These chicken nuggets, which I made two or three weeks ago, but also her amazing Ginger Apricot Cranberry Sauce and her Mixed Vegetables Mornay.  I made the last two for Thanksgiving and am still enjoying the leftovers.
 
I decided to make Baked Honey Chicken Nuggets because the recipe looked so different, and different things intrigue me. My only changes here were to season the raw chicken with a bit of salt and pepper, and I turned on the broiler for a couple of minutes at the end of the baking time so the nuggets would brown a little.

These nuggets were really good!  The honey flavor was quite prominent (though far from overwhelming) and the crunch from the panko bread crumbs was delightful.  The dipping sauce is great, too, and would probably be very good with baked french fries served on the side.  I served mine with Green Beans Amandine (another SRC recipe!), which was yummy for sure, but fries just go with chicken nuggets, don't they?  I should probably add that long after the nuggets were gone (side note, they reheated fairly well), I still had leftover dipping sauce and kept looking for things to dip in it because it's so good.  It's like a creamy, mild honey mustard with a bit of BBQ flavor.
 

Next time I make this recipe, I'm going to try using mustard instead of the balsamic vinegar in the honey-vinegar mixture you dip the chicken into before baking.  We couldn't taste the balsamic vinegar at all (I think it mostly served to thin the honey a tad), but mustard would surely be noticeable.  I would also like to try cutting the chicken in half as described in the recipe, but then just cutting each half into 2 or 3 pieces instead of lots of small nuggets.  My husband ate his chicken with a fork anyway and this would be faster!
 

I would really encourage anyone who makes this to use panko bread crumbs vs any other kind.  This was the first time I used panko, and they were in the baking aisle with other bread crumbs.  In the past I've tried baked chicken with other bread crumbs, and panko is so much better.  It's so crunchy!

Baked Honey Chicken Nuggets with Dipping Sauce

for the sauce:

1/2 C mayo

2 T honey

1 T barbecue sauce

2 t yellow mustard

1 t lemon juice

for the nuggets:

1/2 C honey

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 C panko bread crumbs

salt and pepper

1 lb chicken breasts
 

Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until smooth, cover, and refrigerate while you make the nuggets.  You could even make this the night before, it tastes best after it's had time to sit!

Preheat oven to 375 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Stir together the honey and balsamic vinegar in a cereal bowl.  Measure bread crumbs into another cereal bowl.
 

Cut the chicken into nuggets.  To do this, slice the breasts in half lengthwise so you have two thin halves, then cut them into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper to taste.
 

One or two pieces at a time, put the chicken into the honey mixture on both sides, and let any excess drip off.  Press both sides of the chicken pieces into the bread crumbs, gently shake off any excess, and arrange on the baking sheet.  Repeat until all nuggets are coated.
 

Bake chicken until cooked through, about 30 minutes.  If the crumb coating isn't toasted, turn the broiler on just long enough to make the bread crumbs light golden.  Make sure not to walk away because they could burn quickly!
 

Serve chicken nuggets with dipping sauce.
 

Yield: About 4 generous servings

An InLinkz Link-up

secret recipe club: italian sloppy joes

i had a hard time this month making my choice from wildflour's cottage kitchen for the secret recipe club. it was a toss up between savory - italian pizzeria style sloppy joes or philly cheesesteak sloppy joes - or sweet - peanut butter bars with cinnamon or amaretto russian tea cake cookies. ultimately, and somewhat surprisingly, savory won out.

kelly's blog, wildflour's cottage kitchen, is full of great recipes, especially since kelly was a caterer for 20+ years! it's hard to believe she has no formal training and has just learned to cook such delicious looking and sounding food all on her own. and while i had a hard time choosing a recipe to make, there's one i wish i could: kelly says she's won awards from magazines and has been a first place winner in local chili cook-offs in both indiana and new jersey. now that thanksgiving has come and gone and it's truly winter in new york, it's time for chili. kelly, i want that chili recipe!

these italian sloppy joes are one of my favorite kind of dinners: not only can you cook once and eat a couple times, but leftovers can easily be thinned out a little bit and served over pasta for a totally different meal.

 

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the secret recipe club website!

check out my previous secret recipe club posts: hard cider baked chicken & mushrooms, mini cinnamon roll cakes, double chocolate zucchini muffins with chocolate butter, butterscotch M&M oatmeal cookies, 30 minute baked tortellini, snickerdoodle bars & slow cooker chicken fajitas, meyer lemon iced raspberry yogurt cake & slow cooker chicken cacciatore, almond strawberry jam thumbprints, almond butter cookies, enfrijoladas, chocolate snack cake, bacon topped maple french toast cupcakes, cherry sorbet, slow cooker beans & mushrooms, mojito chicken tacos, maple glazed whole wheat spiced apple pizza, pig out cookies, pasta with blistered tomatoes & arugula and iced grapefruit cookies, mushroom barley soup, scalloped ham and potato bake & andes mint cake, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki, asian pork chops, lemon lime meltaways, blueberry peach crisp, minted lemon ice, white chocolate macadamia nut blondies, raspberry cream filled eclairs, jam swirled cheesecake, whole wheat grapefruit cake, chewy no bake granola bars & carrot cinnamon waffles, cannoli, gingerbread muffins, double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies, butterscotch peach cake, whole wheat honey pancakes, minted pineapple lime agua fresca, breakfast tacos, simple almond sandwich cookies, & roasted banana rum cake.

italian sloppy joes
adapted from wildflour's cottage kitchen
40 minutes, makes 8-10

this makes plenty enough for our family of 2 adults + 1 toddler to eat a couple times for dinner. i did myself a favor and made the whole batch, freezing half for another night, and eating the leftovers from the first half over pasta. if you prefer to make enough for four servings, cut everything in half; cook times remain the same.

1lb mild or hot italian sausage
1lb ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
14.5 ounces stewed tomatoes
1 cup prepared pasta sauce
6 ounces tomato paste
8-10 buns
1 stick butter
sliced pepperoni, about 3-4 slices per sandwich
about 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. place a large saute pan or dutch oven over medium high heat. saute the sausage, beef, oregano, basil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, onion, and bell pepper until the meat is cooked through. season with salt and pepper and drain grease well.
2. return the pan to medium high heat and add the tomatoes, pasta sauce, tomato paste, and a half cup of water and mix well. break up large chunks of tomato with the back of your spoon. bring up to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer uncovered until thickened, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. 
3. while the meat mixture thickens, prepare the buns. preheat your broiler and line a baking sheet with foil. melt the butter and remaining 1 teaspoon garlic powder together. cut the buns in half and brush each half with the garlic butter. place butter side up on the prepared baking sheet and broil until lightly browned. remove the top of the buns from the baking sheet and set aside. keep your broiler on.
4. when the meat mixture is thickened, place about a half cup on each bun bottom. top with a couple slices of pepperoni and about 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese. place back under the broiler and cook until the cheese melts. top with the bun tops and serve.

An InLinkz Link-up

S'more Jars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• graham crackers
• mini marshmallows

 Supplies:

• mixing bowl (alternative: electric mixer)
• saucepan
• whisk
• measuring cup
• wide mouth 4 oz. Mason Jars

Step 1:

mix sugar, cornstarch, milk, & baking cocoa together.

Step 2:

in medium sized saucepan, bring ingredients to boil over medium heat.

Step 3:

continue stirring for 4 minutes.

Step 4:

remove from heat. 

Step 5:

mix in butter & vanilla.

Step 6:

refrigerate 4-6 hours or until completely cooled.

Step 7:

crumble graham crackers and pour until 1/3 of jars are full.

Step 8:

spoon chocolate pudding into jars until 2/3 of the jar is full of ingredients.

Step 9:

top with mini marshmallows.

Step 10:

preheat oven to 350 F.

Step 11:

bake jars for about 3-5 minutes or until marshmallows are golden brown.

Step 12:

enjoy!

Baguette-O-tentic - By June Chan

Baguette-O-tentic
Ingredients
200 g Bread flour
5gSalt
50g Cake flour
175ml Water
10g O-tentic Durum
20g Fine semolina

20-40g of easy range products (any dry fruits or grain)
Method:
1. Mix all ingredients for 4minutes on Low Speed and 6minutes on High Speed
2. Bulk Fermentation for 20m covering with plastic
3. Divide (Big) Baguette 300g 60cm & Mini Baguette 150g
4. Final Fermentation for 90 minutes.
5.Preheat at 240*C and baked at 210*C on Top & Bottom Heat
6. Baking for 24minutes

Hokkaido Cupcakes - by Joice Yu

Hokkaido Cupcakes

Recipe credit: Shirley Tam

Ingredient A
6 egg yolk
salt 1/4tsp
corn oil 40g
milk 40g
Vanilla essence 1/2tsp
cake flour 65g

Ingredient B
egg white 6
vinegar 1/2tsp
castor sugar 85g (can reduce to 70g, find it abit too sweet)

Filling:

Caramel Sauce:
Ingredients:
Castor sugar 75g
Topping cream 150g

Steps:
1. Pour sugar into a pan, heat until it forms brown colour, remove from heat.
2. Slowly pour in topping cream (Be careful, it's very hot!!) and put aside until it's cool.

Cream
Ingredients:
1. Topping cream (non dairy cream) 150g
2. Caramel Sauce

Step:
1. Beat the cream until soft peak and add in caramel sauce.
2. Then continue to beat until stiff peak. Put the cream into fridge for 1/2 hour then apply on cake.

Steps：
1）whisk egg yolk with salt, then add in oil then milk till well combine.
2）sift in flour and lastly vanilla essence, mix well.
3）beat egg white till frothy and add in vinegar, then gradually add in sugar and beat till stiff.
4) scoop 1/3 egg white to the batter and combine, then pour all the batter into the remaining egg white, use cut and fold method to combine.
5）pour the batter into cup, 80-90% full, give the cup a few tap.
6）baked in 140c in 20 minutes, 150c for 20 minutes, then use 170c for 10-15 minutes.
7）when it's done, let it cool down and pipe the cream in.

Tips:
1. Drop the cupcake a few time, to prevent shrink.
2. Turn the cupcake clockwise when you pipe, so that the cream is evenly pipe in.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our version of a Thanksgiving turkey consisted of only four ingredients: Rice Krispies, M&M's, butter, & marshmallows. Now that we think about it…all of those might not be too bad on an actual turkey. Well, all of those except the M&M's are a bit questionable. 

This year I'm extremely thankful for all of the support & readers of PLSR. I hope everyone has a happy & safe Thanksgiving and is just as full as I am right now…

xo

PLSR

Fiona's Speculoos Butter Cookies - By Fiona Lau

This recipe makes approximately 2 dozen cookies
Fiona's Speculoos Butter Cookies

Ingredients
1 ½ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ cup butter
¼ cup Red sugar
100g brown sugar
½ cup Cookie Butter
150g roll oats

¼ tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
¼ tsp salt

 Making the dough:
1. Cream the butter, cookie butter, brown and Red sugar
2. Beat in the egg
3. Stir in vanilla
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt
5. Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients
6. Chill dough in fridge for approximately 40 minutes to 1 hour

Baking the Cookies:

7. Preheat the oven to 170'c

8. Roll the dough into approximately 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet

9. Flatten each ball of dough with roll oats on top

10. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown

Tua Suan ( mung Bean Dessert ) - by Fiona Lau

Recipe sort from and credit to Dr Leslie Tay 

Modified Recipe By Fiona Lau 

Ingredient:

500g Split Mung Beans 

1 cup sugar

3 Tbsp gula Melacca

1 big knot pandan leave

70g sweet potatoes flour

2 ltr water

some salt

For serving:

Dough Fritter (chinese is You Tiao)

Method:

First wash and soak 500g split mung beans for 4 hour with water
Sprinkle with some salt over the beans and steam for 15mins or until it cooked.

rinse the cook bean with cold tap water to prevent the beans turn sticky and soggy

Bring boil 2 ltr of water. 

Bundle the pandan leaves into a knot place in 2 ltr of boiling water. 

Add 1 cups sugar and 3 Tbsp Gula melaka.

Simmer for about 20mins and Remove pandan leaves.

Dissolve 80g sweet potato flour in a bowl with enough water to dissolve the flour.

Add sweet potatoes starch slowly into sugar solution stir constantly till well mix.

Add in cooked mung beans into it  stir well  

serve with dough fritter (you tiao)... yummy Tua Suan