The inspiration for this chicken dish came from love pomegranate house, a self-proclaimed die-hard DIY-er with lots of recipes, tips and projects. Those of you who are familiar with me know that I love to tweak and play around with recipes. This recipe was no exception. The original recipe included Parmesan Cheese and garlic power mixed into the bread crumbs along with a package of Ranch Dressing Mix (the dry stuff). The breasts are dipped into melted butter, then rolled in the breadcrumb mixture before being fried. (Sound delicious, doesn’t it?)
I skipped the garlic powder and Parmesan Cheese (Hubby isn’t a fan of cheese). Rather than dip the chicken in butter to moisten before breading, and to get that same wonderful Ranch flavor, I brushed the breasts with bottled Ranch Dressing first.
When Kiddo (my harshest and most vocal food critic) took one bite and said “How did you get the chicken so moist?” I explained that brushing the chicken breasts with the Ranch Dressing and rolling in breadcrumbs created a tasty “thermal” blanket, keeping the natural juices of the chicken IN the chicken. The wine at the end added moisture as well.
All he knew was that the chicken was “yummy” and that’s what counts, right? Add to the fact that you can have dinner on the table in under 30 minutes, and you’ve got the makings for a great weeknight meal.
I served my chicken with Rice-A-Roni (haven’t made that in years!) and cut green beans. The chicken finished a little ahead of the rice, so I held it in a warm oven (about 300 degrees), and poured the pan-drippings over the breast to help hold it the moisture. That was perfect – the chicken held and stayed super moist while the rice cooked another 10 minutes. It’s always nice to know if a recipe will hold in the oven when your timing is a little off.
Breaded Ranch Chicken
1/2 Cup Ranch Dressing
1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 boneless chicken breasts
2-3 Tablespoons White Wine
Filet chicken breast lengthwise to create 2 thin breasts from each larger breast. (Or use thin sliced breasts from the market).
Pat breasts dry with paper towels.
Brush breast with Ranch Dressing, then roll in bread crumbs.
Melt butter with olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once melted, lower heat to medium, place breaded chicken into pan.
Cook for about 5-8 minutes or until golden brown. Turn and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Add wine to the skillet, cover and “steam” for a few minutes longer or until chicken is cooked through.
Transfer to a warm platter, drizzle with pan drippings and serve with favorite sides.
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Cut chicken into thin breasts (or as I did, buy the thin-cut breasts), pat dry and brush with Ranch Dressing. Roll coated breasts in breadcrumbs while the skillet warms.
Place breaded breasts into the skillet with melted butter-olive oil for frying. Cook breasts for about 5 minutes or so until golden and cooked mid-way through.
Turn chicken and continue to cook another 5 minutes or so until golden and cooked through.
Add a little wine to the skillet, allow chicken to “steam” for a few minutes. The wine will impart additional flavor and moisture to the meat while deglazing the pan. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, drizzle with pan drippings.
Serve up these super-moist Breaded Ranch Chicken Breasts with your favorite sides and enjoy!
Rosemarie's Kitchen 