Anyone who knows me well knows that chicken usually isn’t my entrée of choice. Aside from Chicken Marsala, the chicken I like is usually greasy, fried, or both. So, when I came across this recipe, it seemed like it may be a healthier version of the crispy comfort food we all love. While it didn’t really remind me of fried chicken, it was tasty none-the-less.
I added more spice, seasoning, and a ranch twist to the original recipe. The final product was well received by my guests!
What you will need:
- Medium Sized Bowl
- Large Ziploc Bag
- Large Baking Sheet
Ingredients:
- 16 Ounce Container of Regular or Light Sour Cream: Don’t use fat free!
- 1/2 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper: I used about 1/4 tablespoon and think it could have used a bit more; however, this depends on personal preference.
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder or Italian Seasoning: I used garlic, but Italian seasoning would serve the same purpose.
- 3 Cups Crushed Cornflakes
- 1 Packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix
- 3 Chicken Breasts, Halved, Trimmed, & Pounded: Halve the chicken breasts, trim the fat, and pound with a meat pounder or other heavy, nonabrasive object. Pounding the chicken makes the pieces tender and of even thickness.
- 1 Tbsp Butter: Used to grease the baking sheet.
Instructions:
Wash your hands well, as you will be using them to crush the cornflakes.
Place the cornflakes in the bowl and crush throughly. Add the crushed red pepper and garlic powder or italian seasoning, and mix.
Seasoning the corn flakes with plenty of garlic powder will add a lot of flavor to this dish. I recommend being generous with the pepper if you & your guests are fans of spice! (I crushed the flakes even smaller than what is shown in this picture.)
Directly in the 16 ounce container of sour cream, mix in about 3/4 of the ranch dip packet.
Avoid dirtying another dish by dipping the chicken directly into the sour cream container.
Dredge each chicken breast in the sour cream and place it inside the ziploc bag. When all the chicken breasts are coated in the sour cream, empty the remaining contents into the bag. Store in the refrigerator until 40 minutes before you plan to serve the dish.
Allow the chicken to marinate, if possible, to enhance absorption of flavor and moisture of the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 350 °Fahrenheit. Grease the baking sheet.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. One at a time, remove chicken pieces from the bag and place in the bowl of crumbs. Flip to cover both sides. Make sure each breast is covered with a generous amount of sour cream before coating in the crumbs. Place the crumb-coated chicken breasts on the baking sheet.
The chicken, prior to baking.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven & serve.
The cornflakes should form a crust around the chicken.
I served with a little bit of ranch dip and grated colby cheese, not necessary, but a nice addition.
Thanks to Michelle & Evan (you too, Grant) for coming to dinner and being the guinea pigs of new recipes!
College Cook! 