Easy, Kid Friendly Fish Sticks or Chicken Nuggets

Like any other kid, my boy loves him some fish sticks and chicken nuggets. When he first started eating meat, I would buy him the bags of breaded fish sticks or chicken nuggets from the freezer section of the supermarket. Even though I always baked them for him, they still felt so greasy whenever I'd cut them up. So I decided it couldn't be that hard to make my own version. I recently discovered Panko bread crumbs (I know they've probably been around forever) and I'm in love. They make everything so crispy, like it's really been fried. Don't get me wrong, he gets the real thing every once in a while (he's even had McDonalds's once or twice). I just feel better about giving him these from day to day.

1 to 1 1/2 cups Panko Japanese Style bread crumbs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

1 pound fish filets (I used tilapia) or chicken breast, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season raw meat with salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside. In a shallow dish, combine flour and spices.

In a separate shallow dish, combine Panko bread crumbs and melted butter.

In a third shallow dish, beat eggs.

Dip meat, one piece at a time, into flour and shake off excess.

Dip in egg and then press into bread crumbs, coating all sides.

Place coated meat on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the meat is coated.

Bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through. The chicken usually takes a couple of minutes longer than the fish. After they have cooled, you can put them in a ziploc bag and store in the freezer. I put them in the toaster oven or microwave straight from the freezer and they're ready in just a few minutes. (Pay attention to the chicken when you microwave it; it's easy to get rubbery chicken if you nuke it too long.)