Almond Chicken Nuggets

I was positive I had posted this recipe already, but when I went through the blog to find it for myself I couldn't find it! This is a favorite of mine and my husbands. It requires a more work than the store-bought frozen nuggets but they taste SOOOO much better.

Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:
- chicken, sliced into 1 inch cubes
- almonds
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- olive oil
- salt and pepper

Optional items:
-Spinach
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Plum sauce

1) For the chicken, I prefer using chicken tenders (I find it easier to cut up), but you can certainly use chicken breast. After dicing, place into a plastic bag. Shake it up with olive oil (1/2 teaspoon should do), ginger, garlic, salt and pepper.

2) For the almonds, I buy them whole and grind them up in my coffee bean grinder. You could also smash them yourself with the back of a pan, buy them pre-ground or use walnuts that you smash up. I try to get an even and fine consistency so it can equally cover all the chicken. Throw your smashed up nuts into the plastic bag and shake it!

3) Bring a saucepan to medium to medium high heat, filled with 1/8 inch of oil. We want to almost pan fry the chicken, but we don't want to really fry it. Throw the chicken in the pot (don't do as much as I did though) until the pieces are cooked through.

4) I had lots of nuts get to the bottom of the pan this time, so I tossed on some spinach to serve as a side and pick up the goodies on the bottom of the pan. I hit the spinach with a drizzle of olive oil in the pot and 3 shakes of balsamic vinegar when out of the pot.

5) Serve with a side of plum sauce and enjoy!