A friend of mine actually came up with this recipe and was kind enough to share it with me! She said her husband raved and, since I've been in a bit of a cooking slump, I was thrilled to have a new recommendation! I agree with her: easy and tasty! My occasionally-picky three-year-old ate everything on his plate and said, "This is so good, mama." I like to use chicken cutlets because they are thinner and cook faster and more evenly. They are also a lot less calories than a thick, meaty breast (haha). You can "make your own" chicken cutlets by simply cutting a thick chicken breast in half ... lengthwise? widthwise? I'm not sure how to describe it. You'd butterfly it, but cut all the way through? Like this (thank you google images!):
Okay, now that we've gotten that taken care of, another reason you'll like this recipe is because it's a great way to use up the last stragglers of potato chips that seemed to hang out in your pantry forever (at least they do at my house). They've been forgotten and shoved to the back of the pantry to make room for a new bag of fresh, crisp, whole potato chips. You could sub breadcrumbs as well (plain, Italian, or panko would all work.
Crispy Ranch Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breast cutlets
- 3/4 cup ranch - I used my homemade ranch
- 1 - 2 cups crushed potato chips, any kind (or breadcrumbs) - the thickness of your chicken will account for how much "breading" you'll need.
Directions
1. Create a dipping assembly line:
2. In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil at medium heat.
3. Dip each chicken breast in the ranch ( shake off excess) then in the potato crumbs (shake off excess).
4. Cook on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes on each side (again, depends on thickness). *Resist all urges to move these around or check underneath during the first 5 minutes. This will give the breading time to crisp up. I also recommend using a turner to flip rather than tongs, it will help preserve the crust!
Nutrition? There are many variables when calculating nutrition for this recipe: size of cutlet, brand of dressing, potato chips vs. breadcrumbs. I used a 4 oz. chicken breast, my homemade ranch, and season kettle chips. This adds up 300 calories for one chicken breast.
Thick-Cut Oven Chips
These were a simple side item that would completely satisfy a french fry craving, but spare you the guilt! My recipe served two and a half of us (the toddler counting as the "half").
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized Russet potatoes (about 5 oz each)
- Season salt (I used Lawry's)
- Non-fat Cooking Spray (you could use olive oil, but that means more calories)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees (yikes, right?)
2. Wash and scrub potatoes then slice into 1/8-inch rounds (see picture above). I use a mandolin to do this, but you can use a sharp knife. Don't worry about the thickness, but do try and keep them close to the same so that they cook evenly.
3. Liberally spray your cookie sheet with cooking spray, or better yet, cover it with foil and then spray it liberally with cooking spray!
4. Lay the potato slices out in one layer.
5. Spray slices with cooking spray then sprinkle with seasoned salt (we're going to do this to the other side later so don't go crazy with the salt!)
6. Bake for 25 minutes. Midway through, pull potatoes out, flip and coat with cooking spray and a sprinkling of season salt again.
Nutrition? A 5 oz baked potato is 130 calories. If you use cooking spray, you're adding zero calories and the same is true of season salt! However, if you're watching your sodium intake, go lightly on the Lawry's and see the variations below.
Variations:
You could completely omit the salt altogether by using Italian seasoning, or fresh rosemary and garlic powder, or even chipotle seasoning. Pretty much any savor spice would be great!
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