I think chicken nuggets need no explanation. Almost everyone I know loves nuggets. To make you love nuggets even more, here we have a guilt free recipe using very little oil. By baking the nuggets, we have moist nuggets that also have the crispiness we all enjoy.

As holiday season is approaching, I can imagine having these nuggets as a nibble during our movie time at home. Yum!

Baked Chicken Nuggets

• 2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan (can be omitted) 
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour, prepare in a bowl
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten, prepare in a bowl

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Cut the chicken into your desired size. I prefer to cut it into bite size.
3. Spread panko on a thin baking sheet and baked for about 7 minutes until golden brown.
4. Transfer panko into a bowl and mix in the parmesan, salt and oil. Mix well.
5. Increase oven to 210°C and prepare a baking sheet on a wire rack.
6. Coat chicken pieces in flour, eggs and panko. Transfer to baking sheet.
7. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, ensuring that nuggets are thoroughly cooked. Transfer to serving plate.
8. Serve with ketchup or chilli sauce.

I was spending an extended weekend at my parents’ when I realized that they haven’t used their new sparkly oven at all. My parents just moved back in to their newly renovated home and they’re never a big user of oven. As for me, I’ve been missing baking / cooking using oven because we don’t have one in our rented apartment. So I thought I’d warm up forgotten baking skill (and the oven!) by making something easy and almost error free: Banana Bread!

Banana Bread

• 230 gram (1.75 cup) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 110 gram (0.5 cup) butter, melted and cooled
• 125 gram (0.5 cup) white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed well
• optional: 110 gram pecans / walnut, toasted and chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and prepare rack to the middle position
2. Grease your bread loaf pan (Mine is 23 x 13 x 8 cm) with butter or vegetable spray
3. If you want to add nuts, toast them for 10 minutes in the oven. Chopped once cool.
4. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground cinnamon
5. In another bowl combine butter and white sugar until well combined. Add eggs, vanilla extract and mix well. To this mix then add your mashed bananas and stir lightly to combine.
6. Add the banana mix into the dry ingredients and mix lightly. Do not overdo the mix to avoid rubbery bread.
7. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and let it bake for 55 – 60 minutes.
8. Test if the cake is baked by inserting a toothpick / a chopstick into the centre and see if it has come out clean.
9. Place on a wire rack to cool down and remove bread from pan.
10. Cut to serve and enjoy!