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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
Its on the oven now…smells like mac and cheese and looks a m a z i ng
I made this tonight. I had to use the cheese and crackers all in one, also. It wasn't as crispy as I thought it should be, so I'll make some adjustments next time, but there will definitely be a next time. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe!
I made this tonight! Yummy!! I used Saltine Multi grain crackers instead of the Ritz. Also used in sauce, cream of chicken reduced sodium (no MSG) in it. Light sour cream and Smart Balance instead of butter. I also added a little milk to the sauce because it was still a little thick. I recommend you try this yummy!
This chicken looks so yummy. I'm a canned soup girl. I have made friends with cream, but cream of mushroom soup keeps the man happy. Thanks for the confidence boost. I see a lot of my favorite food bloggers doing their 100% fresh stuff, which is great and good for them if they can do that all the time, but I have a 2 year old, 7 month old and Daddy works 2 jobs so I can stay home with the kids. Needless to say, the quicker/eaier dinner can be the better.
I'm looking forward to discovering more recipes on your site!
I pinned this weeks ago but finally got around to making it and it was a HUGE hit at my house!! It was so good that my son said I should do the same thing to our turkey for Thanksgiving!! We love cream of chicken soup, btw! Thanks so much for such a yummy idea!
Just fixed this recipe tonight. It was absolutely delicious and so easy to make! The family loved it! Thank you for making “dinner” easy again.
Making this tonight! It smells divine!! 🙂
Very good.
This is seriously now a family favorite meal! I only had trouble getting my cheese to stick to the chicken, but I ended up just dumping the rest of the crackers and cheese on top of it in the dish!
My husband would have licked the plate if he could have! The gravy was AMAZING!
This was delicious!!!!! Thinking of substituting the ritz crackers with ground up french onions. Thanks for sharing!