Sometimes my kids just want chicken nuggets with macaroni and cheese. It’s a kid classic comfort food dinner that my kids occasionally crave after some of the more adventurous dinners they love.
They gave me the request for this meal when they came for their weekend visit on Friday. With that in mind, I headed to my local farmer’s market early Saturday morning to buy the week’s necessities. While I was still in recovery from Thursday’s trip to urgent care, I managed to get everything I needed for the week, including a pound of chicken from Smith & Smith Farms, 1/2 pound of aged cheddar from Full Quiver Farms, and zucchini and onion from Johnson’s Backyard Garden.
It makes me happy to show my stepdaughters that we can make homemade chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese from items found at our local farmers market. It lets them know there are a variety of places their food can come from, and how much fresher it tastes than the stuff out of a box in the frozen section of the grocery store, with a much smaller ingredients list (not to mention they can pronounce the ingredients). I’m not militant about everything that goes in their mouths, but I do like to ensure the majority of what I feed them is prepared at home with fresh, quality ingredients.
FARMERS MARKET CHICKEN NUGGETS
Downloadable PDF of Farmers Market Chicken Nuggets
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cut 1 pound chicken breast into bite-sized pieces (about 2-inches)
- In a medium bowl, mix together:
- 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- 1/2 Tablespoon Original Mrs. Dash Seasoning, or to taste (or use your own mix of seasonings)
- Toss chicken nuggets in bread crumb mixture until well-coated
- Place on lightly greased baking sheet
- Spray lightly with olive oil
- Bake for 12 minutes
- Turn nuggets and bake another 10 minutes or until cooked through
- Serve with favorite dipping sauce
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
FARMERS MARKET CHEESE SAUCE FOR PASTA
Adapted from this recipe at Every Day Health
- In a medium saucepan, heat until simmering:
- 1 1/2 cups milk (I use unsweetened plain soy milk)
- In a medium liquid measuring cup, whisk together:
- 1/4 cup milk (again, I use unsweetened plain soy milk)
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried garlic (or 1 large clove fresh minced garlic)
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- When milk is simmering, add flour mixture and whisk until smooth and milk has thickened
- Add:
- 1/4 pound shredded aged cheddar
- Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth
- Pour over 1 pound whole wheat pasta (I prefer corkscrew pasta so the ridges get filled with the sauce), and toss to coat
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
FARMERS MARKET ZUCCHINI WITH ONION SAUTE
- Thinly slice 4-5 small zucchini
- Place zucchini in a colander, salt with kosher salt, and let sit over a bowl until it releases some liquid
- Once some liquid has been released, rinse zucchini and pat dry
- Chop 1/2 yellow onion
- In a large saucepan, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Cook chopped onion until soft, a few minutes
- Add zucchini slices and cook until heated through
- Add:
- 1 teaspoon snipped fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon fresh marjoram
- Cook a couple minutes longer, stirring to mix the seasonings well with the zucchini
Younger B exclaimed happily when she tasted the zucchini, immediately asking what was in it that made it so good. She was thrilled to hear it was the sage and marjoram (thank you GG for the starter plant!) from our front porch – my only two potted herbs thriving in the intense heat. Everyone in the family loves this comfort-food meal. It’s delicious and filling without all the junk food fillers.
What’s your family’s favorite comfort food dinner?
~Ingredients to nourish the body put together in ways to nourish the soul to share with family and friends to nourish the heart~
Leave a comment