Cheddar Ranch Chicken

 

One of my go-to recipes when I need something fast and easy to make is this yogurt parmesan chicken – it’s pretty much impossible to mess up, and the chicken turns out moist and delicious.  I tried out this variation last week and it was great!  The ingredients are pretty similar, but this one used Panko bread crumbs, dry ranch mix, and cheddar cheese. 

I substitute Greek yogurt in any recipe that calls for mayonnaise.  In the half cup needed for this recipe, mayo would have 748 calories, while the Greek yogurt has 155.  Plus instead of 1 gram of protein, you get 8 grams.  I get the full-fat yogurt, but it still only has 11 grams of fat compared to 83 grams in the ½ cup of mayonnaise (there have been studies that consuming full-fat dairy products is actually associated with LOWER body weight…).  You get some calcium too as a bonus. 

Serve it with some simple sides and you’re good to go – I made potatoes and broccolini with ours. 

Cheddar Ranch Chicken (adapted from Buns In My Oven)

Ingredients:

·        8 boneless chicken tenders (the original recipe called for 4 chicken breasts)

·        ½ cup plain greek yogurt

·        2 T dry ranch dressing seasoning (1-ounce packet)

·        ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese (plus a little extra to melt on top towards the end)

·        ¼ cup panko bread crumbs

·        Cooking spray

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

2. Spray a large baking dish and place your chicken in it. 

3. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, ranch seasoning, and cheddar cheese. 

4. Spread over the chicken and sprinkle with panko.  Spray lightly with cooking spray. 

5. Bake for about 25 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked through.  In the last few minutes, sprinkle a little extra cheddar cheese over the top.    

Chicken with Balsamic-Fig Sauce, Spicy Broccolini, and Garlic Ranch Potatoes

 

One of my favorite cookbooks is The Essential Dinner Tonight Cookbook by Cooking Light.  Each page has recommendations for an entrée with suggested side dishes, and all the recipes have photos!  I am very visual, so I’m way more likely to cook a dish if I know what the finished product looks like. 

 

This meal was pretty simple to put together but was delicious!  I wish I doubled the chicken to have more leftovers - the sweet & tart sauce would be great on any type of meat.  The broccolini was easy (the hardest part was waiting for the water to boil).  And this might be my new favorite way to bake potatoes - they turned out slightly caramelized and very flavorful. 

Chicken with Balsamic-Fig Sauce (adapted from The Essential Dinner Tonight Cookbook)

Ingredients:

·        4 skinless, bonelss chicken breast halves

·        1½ T fresh thyme, divided

·        ½ t salt

·        ¼ t pepper

·        1 T olive oil

·        1 T butter

·        ½  white onion, chopped

·        ½ cup chicken broth

·        ¼ cup balsamic vinegar (I used Cinnamon Pear Balsamic)

·        2 t soy sauce

·        ½ cup finely chopped dried figs

 

Directions:

1.  If they aren’t already halved, cut your chicken to half the thickness (I didn’t do this until it had cooked a few minutes, but it would have been easier to start off with thinner chicken breasts to ensure it cooks all the way through).

2. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with 1½ t thyme, ¼ tsp salt and pepper.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken, and cook 6 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove from the pan and keep warm. 

 

 

3. Reduce heat to medium and add butter to the pan.  Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes.  Add broth, vinegar, soy sauce, and figs.  Simmer until sauce is reduced to 1 cup (about 3 minutes).  Add 1 T thyme and ¼ t salt. 

 

 

4. Cut chicken into slices on a diagonal and serve the sauce over the chicken. 

 

Spicy Broccolini (adapted from The Essential Dinner Tonight Cookbook)

Ingredients:

·        1 pound broccolini

·        1 T olive oil

·        2 thinly sliced garlic cloves

·        ¼ t crushed red pepper

 

Directions:

1.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook the broccolini in boiling water for 2 minutes. 

2. Drain and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. 

 

3. Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add broccolini and red pepper.  Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. 

 

 

Garlic Ranch Potatoes (adapted from Damn Delicious)

Ingredients:

·        3 pounds small potatoes, cleaned and quartered

·        2 T olive oil

·        4 cloves garlic, minced

·        1 (1 ounce) package Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix

·        Salt and pepper, to taste

·        2  butter (this was in the photo, but I actually skipped the extra butter…)

·        2 T chopped parsley leaves for garnish (optional)

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick spray.   

3. Gently toss potatoes with olive oil, garlic, ranch seasoning, salt and pepper. 

 

4. Place potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.  If adding more butter, toss them in melted butter and garnish with parsley.  

Pesto Ranch Chicken & Pear Gorgonzola Salad

Tonight we had Grandma Anne and my cousin, Jenn, over for dinner.  Since Lance & I both worked today, I wanted to make something quick and easy. 

I found this recipe for Pesto Ranch Chicken – it literally took 3 minutes to prepare this morning.  And then the salad was pretty simple to throw together once I got home.  The chicken was so incredibly moist – and would be impossible to mess up even for someone with no cooking skills whatsoever.

Pesto Ranch Chicken: (adapted from Picky Palate)

Ingredients:

• 10 skinless chicken thighs
• 1-8 ounce jar pesto
• 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix (1-ounce)
• ½ cup chicken stock

Directions:

1. Cut excess fat off chicken thighs.

2. Place chicken in crock pot, pour in pesto, ranch seasoning, and chicken stock.

3. Stir to combine seasonings, close lid, and cook on low for 6-8 hours (mine was closer to 10 hours since I was at work all day today…but I actually preferred it cooked more).

Pear Gorgonzola Salad:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups spinach
• 1 cup matchstick carrots
• 2 pears, sliced (there are 3 in the photo but I ended up just using 2)
• ¼ red onion, sliced
• Seeds of 1 pomegranate (If you need to learn how to seed a pomegranate, see this post)
• 2 ounces gorgonzola crumbles
• 1 cup praline pecans
• 1 T Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette
• 1 T balsamic vinegar 

Directions:

1. Toss together & enjoy!