Crunchy Cheddar Chicken

This recipe is how I made Real Simple's Cheddar Chicken, and is annotated with my own personal tips to make this recipe even easier (which is hard to believe, because it is such a simple recipe to begin with!). 

Crunchy Cheddar Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

-  4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-  16 buttery crackers (like Ritz)
-  6 oz (3/4 cup) grated Cheddar cheese
-  1 clove garlic, finely chopped (or 1 tsp minced garlic)
-  1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper
-  4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions: 

1) Preheat your oven to 350° F, and cover your baking sheet in aluminum foil.  REMEMBER: Aluminum foil is always shiny side down.  Do you need aluminum foil? No, not really.  It just makes cleanup a lot easier.  Also, I used my toaster oven for this.  It's the perfect size, and requires a lot less energy to heat up and maintain the temperature.

2)  Put the crackers into a large zippered plastic bag.  This will make crushing them - and the steps following - a lot cleaner and easier than if you are switching between bowls like the original recipe calls for.

3)  Get out your aggression from a long day at work.  Crush the crackers until they are a reasonable size for breading the chicken.  The buttery crackers are easy enough to crush - I just pounded them with my fist.

4)  Add the grated cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper to the bag with the crushed crackers.  Fun fact: if you don't have fresh garlic on hand, don't use garlic a lot, or don't feel like chopping it up, you can used minced garlic.  A jar of minced garlic will keep for a long time in your fridge - and has the conversions for a clove of garlic already on the jar.  This is what I used for my version of the recipe, and it turned out delicious just the same!

5)  Close up the bag, making sure the zipper is fully closed, and shake to mix all the ingredients.

6)  Put the butter into a microwave-safe bowl that is large enough to fit one chicken breast at a time.  If your butter doesn't look like mine in the picture, don't worry.  I used homemade butter instead of store-bought. 

7)  Take the time now to prep the chicken.  Rinse each breast with cold water, and make sure that as much excess skin or fat as possible is removed.  Pat dry with paper towels, and set aside.

8)  Put the butter in the microwave, and heat until melted.  BE CAREFUL: Butter will melt and overheat very quickly and easily.  I suggest heating for 10 second intervals to ensure overheating does not occur.  Once the butter is 98% melted, remove it from the microwave.

9)  Dip the first piece of chicken in the butter, making sure it is thoroughly coated.

10)  Transfer the chicken to the bag with the "breading," and gently press the mixture onto the chicken to make sure the "breading" fully covers the chicken.

11)  Transfer the chicken to the baking sheet, and repeat until all chicken pieces are "breaded."

12)  If any butter or mixture remains, pour over the top of the chicken.  No need to waste delicious flavors!

13)  Place in the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes.  The original recipe called for 25-30 minutes, but my chicken was sorely undercooked after 30 minutes.  It definitely took closer to 40 minutes.  Remember to double-check the chicken before you stop baking it and start eating.  Don't trust the recipe to know exactly how your oven works!  When you check to see if the chicken is done, always remember to check the thickest portion of the meat, as that will take the longest time to cook.

Enjoy!
Tips:  For variations, try different cuts of chicken (drumsticks or thighs), but remember to remove excess skin and fat first.  Also, try substituting about 3/4 cups of crushed cornflakes for the buttery crackers.