Ranch Chicken

Long, long ago, a recipe for Ranch Chicken came up on my Facebook feed. Looked good, relatively easy, and BEST of ALL, it calls for normal ingredients.

** Can I just add to my list of dislikes: recipes that call for 1/2 teaspoon of some random spice/extract/special thing that you will never, EVER use again **

Back to this fantastic meal (really!!!). This chicken is INCREDIBLE! It is a family favorite and we have it nearly once a week. The breading is so incredibly tasty, the chicken is ridiculously moist. Mmmmmm! *kissing fingers* It is one of the best chicken recipes I have ever tasted.

I tweak the recipe just a bit to fit what our (paltry) grocery stores offer here. Make! Enjoy! Keep it all to yourself! Also, if you are the one serving this to other, it is quite appropriate (and expected!) to take any leftover breading for yourself.

Ingredients

• 2 - 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large strips
• 6 original English muffins
• 6 Tbs. melted butter
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large bottle ranch dressing (I use Ken's Steakhouse -- YUMMMMMMY!)

Instructions

1. Marinate the chicken in ranch dressing for at least an hour (the longest I've gone is 6 hours and it was delish!!). Be sure all of the chicken is well covered.
2. Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan/9 x 13 dish :)
3. In a food processor (or blender), pulse English muffins until they are crumbs. Add the melted butter, garlic salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Mix until well blended and then dump into a deep dish.
4. Place well coated chicken (use extra ranch if needed) into breading mixture, pressing breading onto it firmly (I like my breading thick, so pile that stuff on it if desired). Place on prepared pan.
5. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Rating: ★★★★★
Feeds: 6
Total Time: 1 hour

That. Is. Nasty!

It's been a long day: up at 7:00, get girls ready for school, go to bus, feed other two kids breakfast, make breakfast for husband, housework, laundry (oh! the laundry!), paperwork, lunch, nap for youngest, entertain #3, bus, homework, refereeing, disciplining, etc.

Surely the meal I saw floating around Facebook that everyone was re-posting will save the night!! You know the one -- the easiest meal you'll ever fix in the Crock-Pot that has no calories, yet is rich in flavor and will satisfy everyone no matter what they are craving!

Everyone gathers round the table excited about the new recipe Mommy made. It smells delicious, it looks delicious! Everyone is served.

Husband:  (encouragingly) "Well...this isn't that bad..."

Any or all children: "Ew. I don't like this." (unfortunately, you never know if this is actually true or is they are just trying to skip straight to dessert)

And then you try it.

And it is disgusting. Truly. Completely. Nasty. Massive fail.

I mean, it's not just bland or too spicy; too dry or too creamy. It's just not good.

So I'm setting out to change things. My plan?

• Try recipes, as they are written, that go viral around the web.
• Share recipes I've found on blogs that are tried and tested and turned out AWESOME!

So, ENJOY! And have no worries -- that nasty stuff won't be posted ;)