Homemade chicken nuggets
The other day, I brought chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese leftovers to lunch for work (because I am a grown-up). To help legitimize myself, I will say that the mac was Annie’s (add plain yogurt!), and the nuggets were homemade, and baked. Whenever anyone hears about these nuggets, they always want the recipe, so I thought I’d post it for y’all to enjoy! You can find it here. I’d recommend following it exactly, except that we bake the panko for about half the time she recommends. They’re delicious, and it’s so nice to know (if you’re going to eat chicken nuggets anyway, as obviously I am), exactly what’s going into them!
Speaking of lunch, I would love to hear: What do you bring every day? And when did you start making your own lunch? My sisters and I still feel disadvantaged because our parents made us pack our own lunches starting in second grade (which means I ate a granola bar and a cup of apple sauce for about eleven years, and was very jealous of my friends’ brown bags).
Now, John and I eat leftovers from the night before almost every day for lunch. We cook dinner six nights out of seven, and actually plan our meal schedule for the week based on which recipes make leftovers or are easily packed and which do not! (More about meal planning soon, if you’re interested.)
How about y’all?
I pack a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch! Just a few months out of undergrad, I’m still trying to get the hang of meal planning (I have a terrible habit of buying too much food at the grocery store and never using it), so simple PB&J it is!
I’m very fortunate in that I work literally 3 minutes from our house, so I go home every day for lunch. It’s a great break in the middle of the day to truly relax. A lot of times I’ll have a peanut butter and jelly, other a turkey, tomato and avocado, and sometimes leftovers, it really just depends on my mood.
I love homemade chicken tenders!! We are heating leftovers for lunch right now! xoxo
Love this! My company actually has a chef on staff so we have lunch provided every day, but I will still bring lunch once in a while when I am not a fan of the menu that day!
I love mason jar salads, leftover crockpot dishes, spaghetti squash, and mini egg quiches (muffins!)!
We also cook at home 6 nights of 7, but we also pack lunch every day, and it’s never leftovers (which I usually freeze or we’ll eat the leftovers for dinner later in the week). We’ll agree on sandwiches for the week or make a big rice/grain salad with beans and veggies and take portions of that. And always a yogurt cup, piece of fruit, and granola bar for snacks.
My eating habits are not the best, I hardly ever think of lunch. A cookie or sometimes munchkins from dunkin donuts does it for me. Terrible I know
yes! we do the same thing…plan meals around what yields the most leftovers. will be a bummer when we have kiddos, i’ll have to cook even more servings per dinner nightly :)
Yum! I am definitely going to try those.
I’ve been attempting meal planning this year and I look for recipes that serve 4 so that my husband and I can have dinner and lunch the next day. But lately it’s been very hard to stay with that plan. When I don’t have leftovers for lunch, I either take a soup, sandwich, or make my own salad. I also meet my mom for lunch once a week, which is always a good time and a nice way to be sure to see her regularly.
I was super lucky and my mom packed my lunch all the way through high school, which was usually a sandwich or cheese and crackers! :-D She is the best! Even in high school I was thrilled when she included a “love note.” She rarely did because she didn’t want me to get embarrassed in front of my friends.
Panko chicken ‘nuggets’ are the best! Trader Joe’s used to sell them in the pre-packaged food (non-frozen) and they were so easy for school lunches! I’ve always been a brown-bagger just because (like you my mom made me haha) as well as the fact that as an adult I make healthier choices at home than I do eating out. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Easiest Lunchtime Staple Ever: a whole roasted chicken. I know I didn’t invent this cooking style but I roasted my very first one on Sunday so I’m excited about it! And it’s actually super easy, so now I’m obsessed with roasting things. One of the best things that come from roasted chicken: the leftovers. For my lunches, I’ve taken some of the leftover chicken in a salad, and I have enough sliced breast meat to make sandwiches for the rest of the week. This makes me want to roast at least one chicken every week. Maybe two, just for lunches.
I pack my husband’s lunch as well. He just likes things to be simple. I made a dish of penne with broccoli and marinara sauce, just for his lunch, for him to take three days this week.
P.S. I’ve totally made those Chicken Nuggets. Next time, try the new Bacon Macaroni and Cheese that Everyday Food’s Sarah Carey made last week to go with. It’s amazing.
@Kelsey Love that! Lucky duck! I love the days I work from home because I can toast things :)
@Kimberly Love mason jar salads!
@Cassie I have that thought often!!
@Victoria Love the notes! :)
@Jewel YUM! I will have to try.
Chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese is one of my husbands favorite meals, so I will have to try these.
I had those exact leftovers for lunch last week and have to say I was a little embarrassed to eat them in front of others!
I am very excited to get the inside scoop on your delicious-smelling and always different lunches! :) Can’t wait to try making these chicken nuggets!
Those look delicious.
I’m not able to access SW mag online… any advice?
I will definitely try these chicken nuggets! My hubby likes the frozen kind, but I bet these are healthier.
I pack my lunch every day for law school. I do leftovers a lot, or try to make some kind of all-in-one dish that has grains, veggies & protein. Yogurt and almonds with dried fruit are great snacks too. I would love to see how you guys meal plan. I think that can save both time and money, and I’d love to get better at it.
In defense of your parents (!) – I had to make my own lunch once I ate at school. Your problem was that I didn’t eat lunch at school until 6th grade :) However, a great lesson in self – sufficiency, that I think you appreciated later in life! Love you!