COTW: John Rhett "JR" Mixon

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This week’s Cook of the Week is John Rhett “JR” Mixon, 3-year old son of Rhett and Karina Mixon. JR attends Swainsboro First United Methodist Church (SFUMC) Preschool and enjoys helping his daddy in the shop and his mommy run demos. In his free time, JR loves to lay around and watch movies with his mom and dad and visits to his “Mimi’s” and “Nana’s” houses. JR’s favorite snacks are popcorn, peanut butter and cereal. His favorite things include tractors, motorcycles and learning about Jesus. He is known to be a funny little boy with a big personality who makes his mommy and daddy so proud. Here are three recipes that he would like to share. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Nuggets Recipe

1 lb. chicken breast boneless, skinless and cut into pieces

1 Tbsp. potato flakes (Instant mashed potatoes)

1/3 c. cold water

1 tsp. garlic salt or 1/2 tsp garlic powder + 1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

2 1/2 c. corn flakes cereal (3/4 cup crushed)*

1/4 c. parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pulse corn flakes in food processor until fine crumbs form (or take a rolling pin to them in a large zip-loc bag). In a shallow bowl, stir together 3/4 cup crumbs and parmesan cheese.

In the bowl of your clean food processor or high powered blender, combine chicken pieces, potato flakes, water, garlic salt and black pepper. Pulse until chicken is finely chopped.

With wet hands, roll and flatten chicken into small nugget patties, using about 1 Tbsp. of the meat mixture for each nugget. Roll nugget into breadcrumbs, pressing gently for crumbs to adhere. Transfer nuggets to lined baking sheet and bake at 375˚F for 15 min on the middle rack or just until cooked through, flipping them over halfway through baking. Remove from oven and let nuggets rest a few minutes before serving.

Freezing Tip: You can freeze them once they are breaded; freeze them flat for 1 hour, then transfer to Ziploc bags and store up to 3 months. When ready to bake them, bake frozen nuggets as directed in step 4)

P.S. Don't over-bake your nuggets or they will start to get dry.

Strawberry Blueberry Yogurt Parfaits

12 oz. plain Greek yogurt

1/4 c. sugar or to taste or preferred sugar substitute

1/4 c. granola store bought or homemade

1 c. fresh strawberries sliced

1/2 c. fresh blueberries

In a small bowl mix together yogurt and sugar or sugar substitute. Add two tablespoons of granola in the bottom of a parfait glass. Top with 1/4 of yogurt, followed by 1/4 of strawberries.

Sprinkle with 1/4 of blueberries. Repeat layers. Serve immediately.

JR's Tortilla Pizza

3-4 Flour Tortillas

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 c. spaghetti sauce (any brand, any flavor)

toppings (pepperoni, salami, ham, pineapple, olives, veggies...whatever you want and have on hand!)

Preheat oven to 425 ˚F. Take a fork and poke holes throughout tortilla. This will allow it to be crispier without burning or becoming soggy in the middle. Take about one tablespoon of tomato sauce and spread all over. Sprinkle cheese as desired. (About 1/4 cup). Add favorite toppings. Cook in oven or toaster oven until cheese is fully melted and edges look crispy (about 10 minutes.)