Ritz Chicken Recipe

I love chicken, and I love Ritz crackers.  If you do too, then I have a fabulous (not to mention super easy and cheap!) recipe for you.  :)

I use skinless chicken breasts and just cut them into smaller pieces--somewhere between a nugget size and tender size.  ;)  I cook 8 pieces for me and my hubby, so you'll obviously have to increase or decrease the amount of ingredients and cooking time depending on how much (or little) you're cooking.  

You'll need:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (although I'm sure any kind of chicken will do!) ;)
• Ritz crackers (store brand is fine)
• Butter (3-4 tablespoons)
• Salt and Pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  

First, you want to take your lovely package of crackers.  For 8 pieces of chicken, I usually use 1/2 to 3/4 of a package of crackers.  Keep in mind this is when they're in the long row packages.  The crackers I bought this time were all scattered in the box!  ;)

Now you need to smoosh 'em!  I use a very professional technique using paper towels and a rolling pin.  I just take a couple of paper towels, place the crackers in the middle, then fold the paper towel back over them.  (I had already crushed up a few in the picture below)

Then I take my rolling pin and roll it over the crackers to make them into a nice, fine, crumbly cracker collection.  The finer the crumbs, the easier it is later.

Next, I place the cracker crumbs in a bowl, and then melt some butter in another bowl.  In this case, I just used some tupperware, so if you do this, melt your butter first!  ;)  (Note:  I'm guessing you could replace the butter with egg whites or something--would that be healthier?  I don't know.  I'm not an expert on healthy things like that, but I'm sticking with butter for now.)  ;)

Now, take your chicken.  (Helpful hint: Whenever I buy chicken, I try to buy a big package, and then I cut it all up at once and split it into piles.  Then I place certain amounts in different bags with labels, so all I have to do is take out a certain bag for supper at night.  If I want to make Ritz chicken, I have a bag with just the right amount so it's easy to thaw and prepare.  If I want Fried chicken, it has a different amount and different sizes. It takes a bit of work to cut and sort at the beginning, but then it's super easy when you're preparing supper!  I'll try to do a post on that another day.)

Salt and pepper your chicken to your heart's content.  :)  (I'm not sure that you actually NEED to salt the chicken, considering that there is salt on the crackers.  I may need to try skipping this step one day to see what difference it makes)

Now dip each piece of chicken in the cracker crumbs, then the butter, and cracker crumbs again.  Place them on a greased cookie sheet and cook them for 20ish minutes.  *Remember that you may need to cook them more or less depending on their size and amount!*

I'm paranoid about my chicken being done in the middle, so I always check afterwards.  ;)  

See??  Simple and easy.  I'm sure you could add other flavors to this as well.  I've actually crushed some French's Fried Onions and added them to the cracker crumbs, which was good.  I've also added some parmesan cheese, but I didn't care for that flavor as much.  Be creative, and eat up!  :)

Linking up to Not Just a Housewife