I had a friend ask me the other day if I ever just eat junk for dinner. I do! It’s not unknown for me to pop a frozen pizza in the oven, or serve oven chips with baked beans, sausages and a poached egg. One of my favourite quick meals just now is a poached egg dropped into the centre of a steaming bowl of baked beans. Easy peasy, no effort.
I’m quite partial to chicken nuggets too, but I loathe buying them. Have you read the ingredients list on a bag of frozen chicken nuggets? No thanks! I quite often make them from scratch using leftover roast chicken, served with a generous helping of peas and oven chips.
As for accompanying sauces to serve we’re a divided family. The boys like tomato sauce and the girls are partial to brown sauce, so when Maw Broon’s Kitchen contacted us and asked if we’d like to try some of their newly launched sauces, we said “Yes, please!”
For those who don’t know, Maw Broon is a character from The Broons, a weekly comic strip published in The Sunday Post. It’s been on the go since 1936 and I would expect every household in Scotland which has ever had a child in it has at least one Broon’s annual on a shelf or box somewhere!
Maw Broon’s sauces are made using traditional Scottish recipes, with no artificial colourings, flavourings or sweeteners, simply good old fashioned delicious Scots fare. Exactly what you’d expect from Maw Broon’s Kitchen.
So, I whipped up a batch of chicken nuggets and as a family we tested out the sauces. Upon reading the ingredients list I noticed that the brown sauce didn’t list tamarind, a key ingredient in a leading brown sauce brand, and, I suspect, the reason why the boys in our house dislike brown sauce so much (and the reason us girls love it).
The boys all tried the brown sauce, and went back for seconds and even thirds! Us girls liked it too, but I did miss the tamarind kick. The tomato sauce was very nice, we thought it was better than a leading tomato sauce brand, although after becoming accustomed to plastic squeeze top bottles it took some practise before we could pour the sauce out of the bottles in the proper quantities (there might have been some tomato sauce flooding on one plate, not that the children minded!).
At £3 a bottle these sauces are a little out of our budget, but that is what you would expect to pay for a good quality sauce made in small batches.
The children loved the fun packaging, as Broons fans, and I am quite partial to the old fashioned bottle shape which is recyclable here in Shetland (plastic isn’t, as of yet). Since the children in Elizabeth’s Kitchen have helped review this product I’m linking it up with Kids’ Corner, my new weekly blogging linky all about kids’ opinions on products. Kids’ Corner is a Blog Hop, so scroll down to the bottom of this post to see what other kids have been reviewing!
I am also linking up with a couple blogging challenges. Credit Crunch Munch, co-hosted by Camilla at Fab Food 4 All and Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours asks us to share our frugal family recipes. These chicken nuggets made with leftover chicken and frozen home made breadcrumbs certainly fit that bill! This month Gingey Bites is guest hosting.
Family Foodies, co-hosted by Vanesther at Bangers & Mash and Louisa over at Eat Your Veg, is all about cheap and cheerful family recipes this month.
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| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time |
| 4people | 20minutes | 10minutes |
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4people | 20minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 10minutes |
- 350 grams leftover cold chicken finely chopped
- 1 apple peeled and grated
- 1 tbsp fresh sage finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp Maldon smoked sea salt finely ground
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
- 50 grams plain flour for dredging
- 2 eggs beaten with 1 tbsp cold water
- 150 grams breadcrumbs
- 1 litre sunflower oil for frying
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Ingredients
Servings: people
Units:
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- Mix finely chopped chicken, grated apple, sage, salt and pepper together in a bowl.
- Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out spooonfuls of mixture and form into 1 x 2 inch nugget shapes. The moist apple helps keep it together.
- Dredge the nuggets first in flour, then the egg dip before coating in breadcrumbs. Set aside on a lightly floured baking tray.
- Heat oil to 180 C in a large heavy based pan (keep a lid nearby in case of fire).
- Fry the nuggets, in batches, for 2-3 minutes each until golden. Drain on kitchen towel and serve immediately.
Stale ends of loaves can be blitzed in a food processor to make fine crumbs and then stored in the freezer until needed. I always use my breadcrumbs from frozen.
Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary was sent a selection of Maw Broon’s Sauces for review. All opinions expressed are our own. This is not a paid post.
These look absolutely delicious and I do like the idea of the apple in there too. Great entry for the Family Foodies cheap and cheerful challenge. Thank so much for taking part!
Vanesther – Bangers & Mash recently posted…Braised oxtail with smoked bacon
Thanks Vanesther for hosting such a fab challenge! The apple adds a nice, child-friendly, sweetness to the nuggets and it helps keep it bound together without adding an egg to the mix.
I love the sound of these nuggets but I think I would shallow fry them as I am scared of deep frying and never know what to do with the leftover oil afterwards and don’t like to have to store it. Thank you for entering Credit Crunch Munch this month:-)
Camilla @FabFood4All recently posted…Foodie News May 2014
There is quite a bit of wastage with the oil. I’ve never tried shallow frying them, to be honest – maybe I should! Deep frying scared me for a long time too but now I keep a lid nearby and never leave the cooker when the oil is over the heat; a lid popped onto an oil fire makes short work of it (not that I’ve ever had to try it out!)
What a lovely looking recipe! The combination of flavours sounds wonderful, especially using apple.
The Maw Broon’s sauces look great too. I just love the retro bottles!
Katherine GG recently posted…New Nairn’s Muesli Breaks Oatcakes
Those nuggets sound lovely and so much better than the preservative stuffed rubbish you can buy, I think I would be too scared of deep frying though, I might start them in a pan then finish them off in the oven with the chips instead x
mummymakescakes recently posted…My top 10 breakfast foods for families
I was really scared of deep frying too, for a long time, but now I keep a thermometer and pan lid next to me. I check the temperature regularly and the lid is there just in case it ignites! It’s never happened yet (knock on wood) but your pan/oven idea sounds like a healthier option!
I am so impressed. A chicken nugget is a chicken nugget I would have thought – but I love the idea of apple being included. Anything to sneak some more fruit and veg into the diet!
I don’t like buying chicken nuggets either unless they are just literally a bit of chicken in breadcrumbs but then my son may as well just have plain chicken (which he’ll happily have!). Like the sound of these, though, and a different way to use up leftovers. I’m with other posters and not keen on deep frying so will give shallow frying or oven baking a go I think.
Lovely idea for using up chicken. Never heard of the sauces before, must try and get some.
Heather Haigh recently posted…Recipe – Coconut Gooseberry Crumble (gluten and dairy free)
Thanks Heather
I was sent the sauces for review otherwise I’d never have heard of them either!