Crispy Cheddar Chicken

I know you've pinned this one or you've at least seen it.  A picture of nicely breaded chicken with a white cream sauce oozing on top.  A dish that looks so delicious in a picture, it just has to be good so of course, you pinned it.

That's right, this post is about testing the Crispy Cheddar Chicken recipe... that I've already made my family three times since I've pinned it.  Does that tell you something other than I'm a slacker for taking so long to post about it? ;)

Jamie, from Jamie Cooks It Up! Family Friendly Recipes is the originator of this chicken pin (which she adapted from another blog).  Take a look around her site as well, she has some amazing recipes you should test out as well! If you haven't already taken a peek at the site for the low-down on crispy cheddar chicken, here it is:

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Time: 15 minute prep + 35 minutes baking

Yield: 7 servings

Recipe from adapted from What’s Cookin’ Chicago via Pinterest

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

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!

   

Now, she makes it look easy and effortless in her pictures.  I struggled just a tad bit in a certain area...

When it came to coating the chicken breasts!  The cheese was really stubborn and didn't really want to stick.  I know she writes to not worry about the cheese and Ritz Crackers to stick, but I was determined!  The method I came up with was to really press the cheese into the chicken on one side along with the crackers, lay that breaded side in the baking dish down and then sprinkle cheese and crackers on the side laying up.  It did kind of cut time out because I was only really doing one side of the chicken.  After doing a couple like that, I pretty much waited until I had all of the chicken laid out in the baking dish and then did all of the "naked" sides at the end!  The sauce was extremely easy to make!

Verdict?  The Crispy Cheddar Chicken was a HIT!  There was only one teeny, tiny remark from the husband, which was the salt factor.  It wasn't overwhelmingly salty, but it didn't need the extra salt in the crackers (we've since omitted that step and it was that much better!).  Hopefully this chicken dish becomes a favorite in your household as well!

Cheers!


*I know I was horrible for not taking many pictures, I will definitely update and make sure I get pictures the next time I make it!