Have you ever wondered what good are the last few crumbs at the bottom of the tortilla chip bag?  Me too!

Last week, while I was making chicken nuggets with the usual bread crumbs for the coating, I was munching on the last bit of tortilla chips when I got annoyed because only crumbs were left.  Then it hit me: use them on the Chicken Nuggets!  So I did. And I liked it.  Actually, I loved it!  So good….crunchy, tortilla-chippy, and yummy!

 A fun and easy kid-friendly classic with a tongue twist: Crunchy Chipper Chicken Nuggets
(say that really fast five times in a row)

Give them a try; you’ll be Chipper about it! (sorry, I couldn’t help it)

Put chips into a ziploc baggie and pound till they are crumbs; set aside

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Set up 3 separate bowls:
1. flour (add salt and pepper to the flour)
2. egg, (whisked)
3. chip crumbs

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut chicken into nugget size pieces (about 2-3 inches)

Season with a little salt and pepper

First, dredge chicken pieces in the flour,

then into the egg,

then into the chip crumbs.

Place onto the baking sheet.

Repeat the process until all chicken is chipper…I mean, coated.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

And this is what you get; Crunchy Chipper Chicken Nuggets

These are so easy and tasty, you’ll be making them again…trust me.

Go figure.  A drop in the bucket. Dog days of summer. Ever heard any of these expressions?  They’re called idioms and people use them in everyday conversations.

My favorite idioms are food idioms.
These are a few of my favorites:

As easy as pie (super easy)
Are you chicken? (scared)
Spill the beans (tell the truth)

Make sure your hands are clean as a whistle (very clean)

Lightly tap an egg on the edge of a bowl until you have a crack

Working over the bowl, put both thumbs in the crack and push in.

Push in and pull shell apart.

Keep pulling apart, letting the egg fall into the bowl.

If you want to separate an egg, then use the shell to hold the yellow yolk while the clear part (albumen – which is protein and makes you smarter and stronger) falls into the bowl.

Keep pouring the yolk back in forth into the 2 shell halves until all of the clear albumen is in the bowl.  You now have a separated egg; Congratulations!

For these scrambled eggs, I used the whole egg, yolk and all.
Now, whisk ‘em all around

You can add a splash of milk or cream for creamy eggs – yum!

Add salt and pepper and whisk some more.
Whisk until eggs are kind of frothy with little bubbles.

Now you can add cheese if you’re that kind of person.  I am that kind of person.

 Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat for 1-2 minutes and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Then pour the cheesey egg mixture into the pan.

 Let the egg cook for a few seconds until the edges begin to turn white.

Use a silcone spatula (my favorite kitchen tool) to kind of stir the egg around.
You can see more parts of the egg are turning white.  This happened about 1 minute after putting it in the skillet.

Keep stirring, pushing and pulling the egg around, especially around the edges if you see it turning white.

Looking at the skillet, think of the numbers 12, 3, 6, and 9 on a clock.

Pull the egg towards the center from those “number positions”

Push and pull the eggs toward the center; this will make a fluffier scrambled egg.

Your egg is almost done; this picture was less than 5 minutes from the beginning.

A good scrambled egg should have a little shine to it.  That means it will be creamy.
If it’s dull, it will be a tad dry. Dry eggs are no fun.

Scrambled eggs are my favorite fast food!  Easy, fast and so tasty!

Before we dismiss, do you know the answer to this:
“How do you drop an egg for ten feet without breaking it?”

If you said, “drop it for eleven feet, it won’t break for the first ten!” then you’re eggxactly right!

Have a great day!

Last Fall we made these scrumptious truffles in class.
This Spring, make them as a really nice gift for Teacher Appreciation Week.

It’s a hands-on, chocolatey fun project the kids can make; A Friday Night Family Fun project!

Teachers love chocolate, trust me on this.

Start with chocolate chips (we used semi-sweet but you can use milk, dark or whatever you like)

1 1/3 cups

heavy whipping cream comes next…

1/3 cup of this wonderful gift to the food world.

pour it into a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high

heat it until it just begins to have small bubbles; just to a boil

remove pot from the heat, turn the burner off and then add the chocolate chips

let the chocolate sit in the hot cream for about 3-4 minutes

then whisk the chocolate and cream together

keep whisking

whisk until smooth

then pour into a shallow dish

stick it in the refrigerator for at least an hour or until it is firm

the picture below is right before I put it in the fridge

here it is about an hour later

using a teaspoon, scoop out some of the chocolate (it will be firm, so dig in)

form the scooped chocolate into a roundish shape; it doesn’t have to be perfectly round!

using your palms (not your fingers), roll into roundish shapes

keep shaping and rolling…this is the fun part!

now it’s time to dust them with powdered sugar

put them all on a handy dandy plate and serve them on Family Fun Night!

or you could put them in a small fancy schmancy box,

tie a ribbon on it,

and give it to your favorite teacher.

 This will definitely make them happy and let them know you love and appreciate them!

Food is meant to be shared…spread the love and chocolate!

Happy Cooking,