Oven Baked Chicken Bites

These never last long when I make them. They are delicious, quick and easy. Bonus hidden veggies and minimal dishes! Perfect for lunch boxes. I make a triple batch every couple months and freeze them for lunches and snacks. 

I start by chucking all the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Yep, just one bowl! I grate the carrot and zucchini straight in to avoid mess. Sometimes I jazz the recipe up a bit (haha, get it? I'm Jazz and I fancy it up? Moving on). I add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, some onion flakes, paprika, oats, quinoa flakes or whatever takes my fancy. The base recipe is very kid friendly but there is no reason you can't change it to suit more adult tastes. 

Once it's all in the bowl, I wet my hands a little and then combine the mixture really well with my hands. If it's a little damp, I add some extra rice flour. It should stick together and form a rough ball when it's mixed enough. It does not make for an attractive picture but once it's cooked it sure is tasty.

Then I shape it into whatever shape I want. Usually I just do rough rounds but sometimes I get a little fancy and use small cookie cutters to shape them. Miss E's favourite is the teddy shape. I also sometimes roll them in some oats or quinoa flakes. The girls don't like that so much but I like that added bite.

I whack them in the oven, turn them when they are almost done and pop them back in for 5 minutes.

They should be lightly browned by then, so I take them out. Then I try to stop the swarm of seagulls kids from eating them all before I even get a chance to take them off the tray. 

Ingredients

500g chicken mince
1/3 cup finely grated carrot
1/3 cup finely grated zucchini
3 tablespoons rice flour (1-2 tablespoons extra may be needed)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well with your hands. It should come together and hold a loose ball shape. It should be wet and sticky, but if the mixture is too wet, add a little more rice flour at a time until desired consistency is reached.

3. Shape into desired shape and place on prepared baking tray.

4. Bake for 12-14 minutes, turn and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve.

Variationx

• Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. 

• Roll in oats or quinoa flakes.

• Add herbs and spices. Paprika, chives or spring onion are my favourites.

Happy cooking!
Jasmine x