Chicken Nuggets in the Crockpot

A number of months ago, I decided to start using my crockpot more.  Actually, I was going to use it everyday.  There was one other time in my life when I did that.  It was after the spring break of three children ago.  I purchased this book (to the left) at the Hatfield Marine Science Center Gift Shop.

What exactly do crockpots and sea creatures have to do with each other?  I don't know either, but that day I put a little extra money toward the aquarium's services, and I got jazzed about the recipes in the book.

I spent most of my time in the car that day using little post-it notes to mark every recipe I wanted to try.  I scheduled in dinners for months.  It was GREAT! 

So, to solve the problem of dinner stress this past fall, I decided that the crockpot was going to be my only chance at peace.  That it was!

Last night, I decided to try chicken nuggets in the crockpot just because I was intrigued.  I found the recipe at this site.  If you're thinking of doing something in your crockpot, this is the site to use.

They turned out SO GOOD!  As I was making them, I couldn't help thinking about buying a package of chicken nuggets at the store, throwing them on a pan and letting the cook away in the oven.  I thought, what the heck am I doing here?  It was pretty time consuming.  To save on time, I threw the chicken pieces (as many as would fit) into the egg mixture and then transferred the pieces into a ziploc bag with the breading mix in it.  I shook them around to coat them, poured them out and placed them in the crockpot .  I layered them with poked pieces of foil between the layers.  After all was said and done, I will TOTALLY do this one again.  So much healthier and yummier than those frozen jobbers.

They practically melted in our mouths.  I used chicken tenders (no, I don't want to know what part of the chicken that is.  Hah.a) and cut them into bit-sized pieces.  I used seasoned bread crumbs and added a bit of garlic powder and a bit of seasoning salt to them, but I wish I would have added more.  The breading was kind of boring.  I didn't follow the recipe on the website.  Next time I will.

It sounds like Stephanie (the owner of "A Year of Slow Cooking") likes her chicken nuggets crispy.  I don't mind mine a bit softer.  These were definitely worth the time and effort.