Real Chicken? In a Nugget?

I hate chicken nuggets.

Yes, I understand that this may seem like a somewhat extreme statement but it's true. I hate chicken nuggets. Mostly I hate them because they don't taste like chicken. That could be because the amount of chicken in them is negligible, just watch any early evening commercial television current affairs show. They said so, so it must be true. Also, it's kind of scary that the nuggets with the most chicken in them are supposedly the one's sold by a multi-national chain starting with a Mc.

Unfortunately my kids love chicken nuggets. They don't get them very often but when they do they fall upon them like kids growing up in a drought (oh hang on, they are!) or as if the nuggets were possessed by the spirit of the Wiggles! So I decided to bite the bullet and give in to this need for nuggets. Not by buying them from that 'restaurant chain' or from the supermarket freezer section but by making my own. The kids loved them, Hubby raved over them and I thought they were a vast improvement on anything you can buy. I had avoided this recipe because I thought it would be fiddly and time consuming. I was so very wrong. These were easy. Super easy. Easier than easy. In fact, I reckon I made these in the time it would have taken to find the keys, drive down to the local nugget place and buy them! Now that's easy.

Chicken and Vegetable Nuggets

From Woman's Day Magazine (but I don't know when)

2 chicken breast fillets, coarsley chopped

1 small carrot, grated

2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce (this was perfect for little kids, add more if you wish)

3 spring (green) onions, coarsely chopped

1 cup stale breadcrumbs

salt and pepper to taste

half cup olive oil

extra sweet chilli sauce to serve

1. Place chicken, carrot, sauce, spring onions and half the breadcrumbs in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper. Process until finely chopped and well combined.

2. Shape level tablespoons of mixture into oval patties. Coat in remaining breadcrumbs.

3. Heat oil in a large pan over a medium heat., Cook nuggets in batches, until golden brown all over and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper.

4. Serve nuggets with sweet chilli sauce. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired. (We had salad with the nuggets and the kids dunked them in good old tomato sauce)