Parmesan Chicken

One of my favorite dishes growing up was Parmesan Chicken. It's easiness is delightful, and the taste is incredibly soothing to my soul! I often ask for it for my birthday dinner alongside green beans and baked potatoes. We like to buy the whole bag of chicken breasts and freeze them for easy meals. Here is how I make mine.

I started with 2 whole chicken breasts (you can use as much as you need, however there are only two people in my household). You can use chicken tenders or whatever you like, I just cut the chicken breasts into smaller strips which makes for a faster cooking time.

NOTE: I had to use butter because I realized we were out of eggs...turned out a little more dry than usual but still very tasty :)

Pre-game: Take 2 whole packages of buttered round crackers out of the box and put them into a ziploc bag. You, your children, or in my case Dee Jay will crush the crackers into very small (think breadcrumbs) pieces.  Once you have a bag full of crumbs you will take grated Parmesan cheese and throw as much as you like into the bag. I would say for 2 pieces I use about 1 cup (if I'm feeling really cheesy that night sometimes I will add a little fresh shredded Parmesan to the mixture). Now you will take 1 egg and put it into a bowl, you will use this to coat the chicken pieces. Now we're ready to roll!

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
After your chicken is cut into strips or ready to go, you will beat 1 egg (or more for a bigger family) and dredge the chicken pieces through the egg. Remove the chicken and throw in the baggie. Shake away! I like to get my really coated because I like my chicken a little crunchier, plus we love to eat the crunchies that fall to the bottom of the pan and get really brown! YUM! Once your chicken is fully coated you will place the chicken on a cooking sheet and once all your pieces are ready you will pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes, then turn them over and bake about 20 minutes more or until they are golden brown and cooked through.

Again for a fast, easy meal I used Idahoan Potatoes except this time I used the Garlic potato bag. I added sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese once they were finished and voila! We steamed some brussell sprouts added about a half of teaspoon of butter, and a little pinch of salt and it turned out like this...

You can always add your own ingredients and spices to the shake bag and I would love to hear what ya'll come up with!!! I sometimes throw Mozzarella into the bag among other fresh spices or garlic even sometimes to kick it up a notch. If by some chance your chicken comes out dry (this has happened to me one time), I add a little BBQ sauce or dipping sauce like Ranch. My favorite is a Raspberry Jalapeno sauce I stumbled upon quite some time ago at Reasors. Just have fun with it!!
~Happy Eating~

PARMESAN CHICKEN
1 box of Ritz crackers or buttered rounds (you will need at least 2 of the rolls of crackers out of the bag)
1 egg
2 chicken breasts cut into strips
1 cup Parmesan Chicken (at least)