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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 did everything as per the instructions and it turned out delicious! I only needed 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers and I did not make the sauce. But it was great without! The cheese was hard to stick to the chicken, but once I added the bread crumbs and gently laid the chicken in my pan and baked it, everything stuck wonderfully.
Great recipe, tastes so good! I mixed my cheddar with the ritz & dipped my chicken in egg first & I also used whipping cream instead of sour cream & it turned out great!
Cheese or crumbs won’t stick? I added a little melted butter to my milk that I warmed, and everything worked perfectly. I only haver 1% milk in the house, so the butter, I think, helps to hold everything together. YUMMY!!!
I made this tonight, but didn’t have enough cheddar cheese, so I used parmesan. It was yummy! Definitely making this again, and want all the cheddar cheese this time. I dried the pieces of chicken first, so more milk would “stick” then had to smash them into the cheese and crackers. but it worked great, and the chicken was so juicy and yummy. mmmmmm served with steamed green beans. DARN, I just remembered I forgot the sauce. Oh well, it was still yummy. All the more reason to make it again. ๐
Absolutely wonderful! I mixed an egg with the milk and used cheese crackers because I didn’t have Ritz. I mixed the cheese and cracker crumbs and everything stuck nicely. The cooking process worked beautifully. I can’t wait to try it with Ritz. Thanks for the yummy recipe.
I made this and chicken was dry ๐
Can I freeze this before I cook it?? Have you ever done that with this dish?
Melissa,
Yes, you can freeze it before you bake. Just be sure it is completely thawed out before you bake it. Good luck!
~Jamie
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious and easy! The only thing I changed is I used an egg to bread the chicken instead of milk and I actually used crushed cornflakes because I didn’t have any ritz crackers. I will definitely be making this again, thanks for the recipe!
Maybe try cheez-its. freeze cheeze slightly before grating. And why not put some cheese in the sauce instead of directly on the chicken. Hey they make cheese soup maybe combine the cream of chicken with the cheese soup. You can never have too much cheese , right?
I marinated the chicken breasts in buttermilk overnight which I do anytime to cook chicken. So moist..cheese and cracker crumbs adhered well to the chicken. Everyone loved it!