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Quick & easy chicken, Fun style

I mentioned last week that my sweetie found boneless, skinless chicken, and he was good enough to buy 2 lbs, which meant I could make Amy Thielen’s wonderfully fancy yet simple rosemary chicken with half the meat.

But it also meant that I could use the rest to make a Betty Crocker recipe that coats chicken breasts in sour cream and onion potato chips. From the time I came across the recipe, I knew I had to make it as soon as my sweetie could bring home the special cut of meat.

Potato chip-coated chicken ingredients.

Of course, fried/sauteed chicken could be made with thighs or bone-in breasts, but this seemed to me the type of thing that would work best with what it called for. So, I was willing to wait until we could get what we need, and willing to eat less meat and get different cuts going forward so I could enjoy this the way I wanted.

There’s not a lot of work to it, but that doesn’t make it any less tasty. Besides, what’s not to love from chicken and potato chips mashed together.

It was a true delight, and I hope to make it again someday when meat is easier to come by and I feel less guilty buying some, since I’m usually content with a nice vegetarian meal.

Potato chips and chicken make pure perfection.

Here’s what I did:

  • ~4 c. sour cream and onion potato chips, crushed (yielding ~1 c.)
  • 1 T. parsley flakes
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 t. Worcestershire sauce
  • ~2 T. vegetable oil
  • 4 (about 1 ¼ lb.) boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions

Place the crushed potato chips on a large shallow plate, and mix with the parsley. In a separate small bowl, beat together the egg and Worcestershire sauce.

In a 9- to 10-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium heat (cooking only half at a time or using 2 skillets if it doesn’t all fit into one skillet). Dip a chicken breast into the egg mixture and then coat with the potato chip mixture, pressing in as appropriate. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.

Cook the coated chicken breasts in the heated oil for about 10 to 12 minutes, turning once about halfway through, until the coating is a deep golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Let cool slightly, and enjoy!

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Lose the canned soup, keep the potato chips

A week later and I’m still stuffed from a long Thanksgiving weekend with my family.

Mom made all of my must-haves, and added a wonderful appetizer spread a little before dinnertime. Throughout the weekend, Mom also offered leftover potato dumplings (a family favorite) and we ate take-out when we were tired of leftovers.

It’s enough that I’m not sure how I’ve continued to eat so much after getting home.

And yet, there’s blogs to write.

I was trying to find something simple and also different from traditional Thanksgiving fare for this week’s recipe, and also something different. Instead, as I was talking about my next recipe with Mom and Grandma, I came up with something that met the first two requirements but was one of my favorites. After talking about it, though, I had a hankering.

Tuna noodle casserole ingredients.

I first made this Epicurious tuna noodle casserole during my year of casseroles, and loved it so much I’ve been making it–even without writing about it–for years now. It tastes a lot like the classic casserole (with potato chips on top!!), but instead of canned cream-of-something soup, there’s a wonderful homemade leek sauce that makes it even better.

While I more or less followed my previous recipe, which altered the original slightly, it was interesting to see how it turned out in a Dutch oven versus a casserole dish.

The original recipe calls for mixing the sauce on top of noodles, and it calls for buttering a separate casserole dish after the mixture is prepared, but that sounded like a lot of dishes when the Dutch oven could do it all. (Full disclosure: In the interest of saving time, I did cook the noodles in a separate pot while I prepared the sauce, but they can be made in the same Dutch oven or prepared in it in advance.)

I wasn’t sure if not being able to butter a separate dish would make the casserole stick, so I upped the butter (even though I’m sure there’s more than enough fat). Some of the edges did end up sticking a bit but I liked the browning that the Dutch oven gave to the casserole. So, all in all, I’d say the Dutch oven works great, and tuna noodle casserole is even more amazing now that I know it tastes great and is adaptable.

Mmmm. Potato chips.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients 

  • 6 T. butter
  • 2-3 leeks, sliced
  • 1 t. celery seeds
  • ¼ c. all-purpose flour
  • 2 c. whole milk
  • ½ c. half and half
  • 1 t. lemon juice
  • 12 oz. egg noodles
  • 1 c. Gruyere cheese, grated
  • 2 T. fresh dill, chopped (I used more, but adjust for your love of dill)
  • 2 cans (5 to 6 oz.) tuna, drained, broken into chunks
  • 2 c. potato chips, coarsely crushed (my sweetie and I prefer Ruffles)
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook the egg noodles according to package instructions. This can be done in the Dutch oven, separately, or in advance. Once ready, drain the noodles BUT reserve about ¾ c. of the cooking liquid.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, on the stove top, melt the butter in the Dutch oven, and then add the leeks and celery seeds, seasoning with salt if desired. Cover the Dutch oven and saute the leeks until tender, about 8 minutes, stirring often.

Gradually add the flour, and stir for 1 minute.

Gradually add the milk and half and half. Simmer until the mixture thickens, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once the noodles are ready, add them to the leek sauce in the Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Add in the cheese and dill, and stir to combine. Add the reserved noodle liquid by tablespoons until the mixture is creamy (you likely won’t use it all, but it’s better to have more than less; I added about ¼ c. in total but add to your desired creaminess).

Finally, fold in the tuna.

Cover the Dutch oven and bake for about 20 minutes until heated through. Remove from oven, remove lid, and add the crushed potato chips on top of the casserole. Bake uncovered another 10 to 15 minutes until the chips are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool slightly and enjoy!