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I have a simple dinner recipe for you today. Simple and easy and tasty and smile provoking…an all around treasure.
I love it when smiles are provoked. Heck. I’ll take a smile from my kids even without provoking it! It’s just so much nicer when people smile instead of whine.
Do you like whining?
Not a fan, myself.
Speaking of my children…the other day we were watching a cooking show on The Food Network and one of my kids said…
“Hey Mom, you like to cook.
Why don’t you be the cooker on that show?”
My response?
“I’m pretty sure The Food Network frowns upon cookers who use cream of chicken soup. I think I’m out.”
Especially since just last week three of the trial recipes I made for this little ol blog
crashed and burned in failure. I used real cream in all of them!
Cross your fingers that real cream and I can become friends soon.
I hear from the good folks on The Food Network that it’s a mighty fine ingredient.
Now. Do I feel embarrassed about cooking with cream of chicken soup? Heavens no! I just bought three cases of it last month.
Should you feel embarrassed about cooking with
cream of chicken soup?
Of course not!
Are you the cooking she-rah for your family or what?
Do make food that provokes a smile?
Do your family members occasionally say things like…
“You are The Bomb, Mom. What ever you made with that trusty old cream of chicken soup is rocking my world.”
I thought so.
I knew you were great!
We cream of chicken soup lovin’ ladies have to stick together.
Rice Pilaf with Almonds
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Baked French Fries
Roasted Broccoli with Balsamic Glaze
Glazed Rosemary Carrots
Roasted Asparagus
Now, let me show you how to make this crispy chicken happen!
1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.
2. In a small food processor grind up the ritz crackers.
3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk…
then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Some of it will fall off when you add it to the cracker crumbs, don’t worry about it.
Press the cheesy chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in. By the time you are coating the last piece of chicken, the dish you are using for the crumbs will be full of cheese. Don’t let it get you down. Once the cheese melts in the oven it will adhere nicely to the crumbs and the crackers.
5. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.
8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken.
Enjoy!
Crispy Cheddar Chicken
***Note: This recipe makes a great freezer meal. Assemble the chicken according to recipe instructions, but don't bake it. Cover your pan tightly with foil and freeze. When you are ready to use it let it thaw completely and then bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. It's best to make the sauce fresh, when you are ready to eat.
Ingredients
Chicken:
4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 C milk
3 C cheddar cheese, grated
1 t dried parsley
Sauce:
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 T sour cream
2 T butter
Instructions
1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.
2. In a small food processor grind up the ritz crackers.
3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Some of it will fall off when you add it to the cracker crumbs, don't worry about it. Press the cheesy chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in. By the time you are coating the last piece of chicken, the dish you are using for the crumbs will be full of cheese. Don't let it get you down. Once the cheese melts in the oven it will adhere nicely to the crumbs and the crackers.
5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.
8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken.
https://jamiecooksitup.net/2011/10/crispy-cheddar-chicken/Recipe from www.jamiecooksitup.net
Recipe from adapted from What’s Cookin’ Chicago via Pinterest
I want to make this, but every time I try to bake chicken with any kind of crust, the juices accummulate in the bottom of the pan and make it all soggy on the bottom. Anyone know how to deal with this issue?
Don’t care for cream of chicken soup. Used cream of mushroom added the butter sour cream and 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese. It wasa big hit.
Gollikat, just put the chicken breasts on a cooling rack. That way they’re not sitting in the juices and you’ll end up with nice crisp breading all around.
Made this two days ago, substituting Hot n Spicy Cheez-Its for Ritz crackers, which gave it an extra kick of flavor! Also instead of adding salt & pepper to cracker mixture, I lightly seasoned the meat with garlic powder, pepper & Lawry’s seasoning! I also added some garlic powder to the cream sauce, delish!!! My husband has requested again tonight, so I just put it in the oven! Thanks again for the wonderful recipe!!!! ๐
Just thought you’d like to know that I reviewed your recipe on my blog and we loved it! I have actually made this recipe several times and it is always a hit!
https://reneesthoughtsandideas.blogspot.com/
I agree with Martha. First of all, the cheese did not stick to the chicken what so ever. Neither did the crumbs. Ended up putting the chicken in the baking pan, and topping with the cheese and cracker crumbs. In the oven now. We’ll see how it turns out.
Ok, literally just made this and the family loved it!!!! Everything stuck together fine and cooked perfectly. I used bread crumbs instead of Ritz. The sauce was really thick so I added water and more butter. Also it was too cream of chicken tasting for me so I also added more sour cream, it came out great! Thanks for sharing!
I could read a book about this without finding such real-world apshoacrep!
I think I know the answer to the cheese problem. The recipe calls for the cheese to be “grated”, but when I look at the pics in the recipe, the cheese looks to be “shredded”. So if anyone is try this out or doing it again, try using shredded cheese.
I Understand The Recipe Called For “Grated” Cheddar Cheese. It Is Impossible To gratE That Soft Cheese. It Would Get Stuck In Those Isty Tiny Holes. I Noticed That The”Shredded” Cheese Stuck Better To The Chicken Towards The End. About The Last 4 Or 5 Pieces. More Milk Left Behind Made The Cheese More Squishy. Also I Used A Plate For The Ritz And Used Yhe Palm Of My Hand To Push The Crumbs & Cheese Onto The Chicken Like A Hambuger. I Also Broiled The last 10 Min.
The Sauce Was Cream Of Cheddar & Used A Spatula B/c I Had A Milk Product To Heat. Added Chives To Sauce & Thyme To The Top Of The Chicken.