Foodie Friday: Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Image provided by Allrecipes. com

We made it through another week, dear reader. One bibbed overall wonder buns is panicking because he realized our farm event is next Saturday. This has him bustling about like a man on fire, with a bit of an attitude, and a to-do list a mile long. He needs to process, and he will be fine. When he's like this, I make a point of feeding him food he loves that's fast and easy to eat on the go. This week, I made homemade chicken nuggets because they make him happy, and he can consume them in under ten minutes.

I've been making this recipe for years. The Bean loves chicken nuggets, like most kids. I was looking for a more natural, less processed option and came across this recipe on Allrecipes.com. It has been in my Tinkerbell folder for over a decade. Again, it's a quick and easy meal that can be prepared in under 30 minutes. It's delicious and doesn't require exotic ingredients. All ingredients can be found in a well-stocked pantry.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 tablespoon dried basil

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ cup butter, melted

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

2. Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan, basil, thyme, and salt together well in a medium bowl. Put melted butter in a bowl or dish for dipping.

3. Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the bread crumb mixture.

4. Place the well-coated chicken nuggets on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer.

5. Bake the nuggets in the preheated oven until they are browned and the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

6. Serve and enjoy!

   
   

   The Bean enjoys her homemade chicken nuggets with ranch dressing. The Bibbed Wonder prefers BBQ sauce. I serve this with homemade mac and cheese and garlic green beans. This is a meal everyone enjoys; it's simple and delicious. On this lovely Friday, stay safe, be smart, enjoy simple and delicious food, and keep washing your hands.

I Am Chaos

Not chaos, just a nice picture of Fauna and her babies

As I sit writing to you, my bib-overall-wearing buddy is mowing the lawn. The Bibbed Wonder hates mowing. He puts it off as long as possible, and when he finally begins, he complains about the weekly chore for the entire spring and summer season. I offer to help him, but I am always met with mild disrespect and very apparent exasperation. Seriously, hit a few rock piles, grind a few stumps with a mower, or have to have a wench used to pull you out from wedging the mower between a tree and a fence post, and one is marked for life. He has nobody to blame but himself. I'm happy to help, but he refuses to let me.

My attempts to make my husband's life easier are often met with indifference or even criticism. Instead of appreciation, he says things like, "Why don't you go pet your chicken," or "Weaponized incompetence is your game, and I'm on to you." I seriously do make efforts to make his life easier. No, I'm being for real. I truly do. We have such different approaches to tasks that it often ends up being more of a battle of wills than an effort to help. I believe that as we get older, our right-brain and left-brain tendencies become more disparate.

Eric is methodical. He enjoys routine, no, he thrives with routine and repetitiveness. He hates change. I mean, HATES change. If it were up to him, everything about his life would be on a lather, rinse, repeat cycle. His clothing is a testament and a physical manifestation of his personality. He literally wears the same outfit day after day. The only thing that changes is the length of his shirt sleeves from one season to the next. He has twenty-one pairs of the same socks, underpants, and t-shirts. His t-shirts have to be Carhartt brand with a pocket. He wears long-sleeved shirts in fall and winter, and short-sleeved shirts in spring and summer. He has fourteen pairs of the exact same bib overalls. He has boots he wears in the studio, boots he wears out and about, and barn boots. He buys the same brand and style of boots year after year.

I, on the other hand, love variety. I embrace change. I enjoy doing something different every day. My wardrobe is a colorful blend of various styles. I wear my hair differently almost daily. I order a different meal from our favorite restaurant every time we go out to eat. I change the furniture arrangement frequently. I decorate and organize, always seeking a more efficient system. To put it concisely, I am chaos. I am the disruptor in my husband's quest for routine perfection.

Since baby season has begun, I have been going out to the barn both morning and night to help with the barn chores. This morning, he snuck out of the house and let me sleep in until 6:00. I wonder if it's because he was being thoughtful or if he's tired of me disrupting his morning routine. I am supposed to count the babies, feed the babies their bottles, feed Mama Boo and Red in a private stall, and feed the boys across the way. I usually get stuck when I count the babies, because they are so adorable, I have to sit down and cuddle them. The Bibbed Wonder no longer tries to hide his exasperation when he asks me if I've done whatever it is I haven't done. I can't repeat the comparison he makes to working with me because it's not nice.

He won't let me mow because when I do, the lines in the grass aren't straight, and it drives him crazy. Seriously? I can't with him. No, he is put upon because he is an anal retentive pain in the a$$. I might be chaos, but I keep things interesting, maybe not always in a good way, but it's never dull. Although I jest about him being a pain in the a$$, he calms my chaotic mind. He adds order to my creativity, and he makes my ideas a reality. I get frustrated with him because he always sees the downside to my grand ideas, but in fact, he is the logic I lack. I appreciate his logical, methodical approach to life. He gives me the stability I crave. To be honest, I'm not really sure what I bring to his life other than frustration and chaos, but he keeps me around.

Despite our differences, we make it work and we have fun. I have thoroughly enjoyed this spring. I love going out to the barn and "helping." I like feeling like I make his life easier, even if it's just an illusion. I appreciate the fact that he allows me to believe I make his life easier and am being helpful. He could probably get things done more quickly without my help, but he smiles when I talk to the babies and sit on the hay mound, cuddling them. I can't be that annoying, right?

On this lovely spring day, stay safe, be smart, enjoy your routine, embrace your differences, and remember that chaos isn't always a bad thing. Oh, of course, keep washing your hands.

Upcoming Seasonal Scents

The inspiration for our new scent

Now that the girls are once again producing milk, we are crack-a-lacking on making soap and moisturizer. One bib overall wearing drama queen is calling our dry spell "the milk shortage of 2025." He's a lot. We weigh and freeze milk a few days a week, and it's good to see more than just a few blocks of milk in the freezer. The moisturizer stock is replenished, along with our Miracle Milk Face Balm. It's good to see the shelves full. Eric has been making soap like a machine. When we work together, things run smoothly and go quickly. We can make four batches of soap a day. Our shelves are filling up, and we can now think ahead to our upcoming seasonal scents.

We are both very excited about a new seasonal scent that will debut late May or in early June. I did not think I would appreciate this scent, but oh my goodness, it has both of us swooning. Violet is the scent, and dear reader, it is truly divine. Very rarely does The Bibbed Wonder get excited about a scent, but if you happen upon him in the soap studio, chances are he will have you sniff this oil and ask for your opinion. To date, the feedback we have received has ranged from delightful to swoon-worthy. I fully anticipate this scent will be equally as popular, if not more popular than our spring Honeysuckle.

I was hoping to debut this scent at our farm event and for Mother's Day, but alas, the milk shortage of 2025 foiled my plans. It will be okay, we have our wildly popular Honeysuckle products and our well-loved Lilac soap and moisturizer ready for the event and Mother's Day. Not being rushed by one bib overall wearing buddy gives me time to work on new soap techniques. I purchased several new tools to up my soap game and help me create embeds and 3D flowers for the top of the soaps.

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to create embeds. I used my new extruder and it went very well. I'm happy to share that I've finally figured out soap dough, and it's a lot of fun to work with. The extruding process went smoothly, and I didn't have to use any foul language. I consider that a win. I also tried the new flower-making tools I purchased several months ago. The tools themselves are very easy and enjoyable to use. However, my soap dough was a bit too sticky, making it difficult to create clean, beautiful flowers. I tried adding a bit of cornstarch to the dough to make it less sticky, but it diluted the beautiful color of the soap dough.

Unfortunately, I will have to be patient and wait for the soap dough to cure for a bit. Patience is not one of my best attributes, so this is a challenge. It doesn't help that Eric is fussing to get the soap done. I told him he needs to have a backup plan in place because my flowers won't be ready. We have numerous regular scents that need to be created, so it's not an issue. He tends to be less patient than I am when he gets an idea in his head. It will take a bit of patience on both our parts, but it will get made all in good time.

I feel so far removed from the scent ideas I created in January that I have to pull out my Soap Bible 2025. It's my notebook that houses all my ideas for 2025. I do know for a fact that Moonlight Sonata is coming back because so many of you have asked for it. I'm also bringing back Lemon Verbena, Strawberry and Cream, and Blueberry Verbena. Other than those few, I can't remember what's on the list. I will be just as surprised as you, dear reader. My little brain is becoming increasingly more forgetful these days.

Seasonals are exciting and something to look forward to. While I am planning our seasonals, I am also reworking our display for the market and narrowing my ideas for our Shaker Woods building. The Bibbed Wonder is going to be groaning in protest, but it has to be done. One of us loves a good project, while the other is dragged along, kicking and screaming. All I ask is that you act impressed when you see our display. It makes my life a lot easier if he gets good feedback from outside sources.

On this lovely spring day, stay safe, be smart, look forward to new scents, plan to see us at live shows if possible, and of course, wash your hands.