Sunday, July 17, 2011

Baked Ranch Chicken & Philly Creamy Squash & Pasta

Ranch Chicken 101...I tried a recipe I found before that I couldn't taste the ranch flavor at all.  That one dipped the chicken in ranch dressing....the flavor was totally lost.  This time I basically took a envelop of the Ranch Dressing Mix (dry) and added a twist to it.  I loved how it turned out, dipping the chicken in butter raised the calorie count, but I swear this baked chicken was really crunchy! Just like fried.  The Panko even browned (which didn't happen before).


Baked Ranch Chicken
6 bone in chicken thighs
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp melted butter

Combine Dressing Mix with Panko and Parmesan Cheese in a plastic Ziploc storage size bag.

Melt the butter in the microwave in a wide mouth bowl.

One piece at a time, dip the clean and trimmed chicken into butter then into the dry mixture.  Shake the chicken in the dry mixture bag until completely coated.

Place the chicken on a raised rack (to allow the fat to drip off of the meat) on a foil lined cookie sheet.  (Tip: lining the cookie sheet with foil makes for easy clean up,

Bake for 50 minutes on 375 or until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear.

Rating 4 forks
Source: Me!, original recipe


Philly Creamy Squash & Pasta - An experiment gone good! At first I was leery about Philadelphia’s Cooking Crèmes…I was very nervous to try it. My friend, Denise had made a dish with it and she kindly brought me some for lunch. There was my chance to taste it. So…(drum roll please!) surprisingly, it was pretty good! I decided to get some myself. When I brought the container home, I wasn’t really happy with the recipes provided so, I made up my own.

I  needed a veggie side dish to go with the ranch chicken that I made (above). I wanted to cook zucchini and summer squash. My husband doesn’t really care for either of these veggies, BUT, he liked this! He even ate leftovers of it! So, I would consider this a clear “win”!

I’ll be making this again, I may even do some variations, possibly with broccoli & pasta.

Here’s my recipe for Philly Creamy Squash & Pasta

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry Ditanili Pasta
1 Tbsp of EVOO
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 small Zuchinni, sliced
2 small Yellow Squash, sliced
2 med Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 container of Philly Garlic Cooking Creme
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Kosher Salt to taste
Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Boil pasta in chicken broth until al dente.  Drain pasta, but retain 2 Tbsps of broth liquid.

Use medium heat.  In a large sauce pan, heat1 Tbsp of EVOO.  Add onions & garlic. and saute for 2 minutes.  Add zucchini and squash, saute 3-4 minutes.  Then add tomatoes & pasta and 2 Tbsp of broth. Add 1/2 container of Philly Creme.  Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.  Add Parmesan, stir and serve while hot.

Rating 4 forks
Source: Me!, original recipe

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