Last week was Tonchi’s birthday and he requested chicken wings for dinner.  I haven’t made those in forever and the last time was definitely before he couldn’t have gluten!  What in the world was I going to do?  

I scoured the freezer and thought I had found two small packages of chicken wings, so I took them out to defrost and off we went to spend the morning with cousins and ‘Buelita (my mom).  I figured they could defrost while we were gone and once we got back soon after lunch I’d work on a recipe while the kids were napping.

We had a great time at a fountain playground for kids in the area.  They had so much fun running in and out of the water and getting completely soaked!  One of my sisters has two boys close in age to my boys and thankfully they get along well and play well together.

 

                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aisling wasn’t too fond of the water, but she still played and somehow managed to get wet although she was never very close to the fountains!

Once we were home and kids napping I did my usual… meander to the kitchen and start the never ending food prep!  As I took a look at what I had thought was chicken wings I realized it was chicken thighs.  Oh well.. Tonchi’s wings will be thighs, but I’m sure he won’t really mind as long as it tastes good… and I was right!

For his birthday dinner he had breaded chicken “wings”, veggies and ranch dip, peach apple dessert (I didn’t realize it was going to be more of a dessert when I first made it and it started out as a side to dinner!) and chocolate cake for dessert.

Here is the recipe for the breading for the chicken thighs, wings or nuggets.

Breaded Chicken wings, nuggets, thighs or whatever you want!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil (optional)

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or other non stick surface
2. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a plastic bag, and shake to mix. Or mix in a large bowl to allow plenty of room for tossing the chicken.
3. Dry the chicken pieces completely and add the chicken wings to the mixture, seal, and toss until well coated.
4. Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator.
5. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
7. Optional: Whisk together the melted butter. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet.
8. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the thighs over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

I have used this recipe for doing nuggets which are great when using thighs.  The meat stays moist and tender and doesn’t dry out like breast meat.  I’m kinda a white person anomaly that I like dark meat more than white.  I hear that is more of an Asian trate, so I guess dear hubby is wearing off on me!

I usually just chop the thighs (or breast meat if you must!) into nugget sized pieces and continue with the above recipe!  It’s a hit in our home and the kids eat them like they are going out of style!

I often make a large batch and then freeze them after they are cooked and they reheat well in the toaster oven (since we don’t have a microwave) and are a simple, easy, filling lunch as well!

Please, please, please… give a review!  Let me know what you think!