Dinner tonight was AMAZING! I just knew I had to share... It was super easy to make, but seemed like a super fancy meal.
Here's the original recipe:
2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked
1 can (14 oz) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
6 Ritz crackers, finely crushed
2T Parmesan cheese
4 small boneless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
2t oil
1/3 cup Philadelphia chive and onion 1/3 less fat than cream cheese
3/4 lb asparagus spears, trimmed, steamed
Cook rice as directed on package, using 1-1/4 cups of the broth and 1/2 cup water.
Meanwhile, mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan on plate. Rinse chicken with cold water; gently shake off excess. Dip chicken in crumb mixture, turning to evenly coat both sides of each breast. Discard any remaining crumb mixture.
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook 5-6 min on each side or until done. Transfer to plate; cover to keep warm. Add remaining broth and reduced-fat cream cheese to skillet; bring just to boil, stirring constantly. Cook 3 min or until thickened, stirring frequently; spoon over chicken. Serve with rice and asparagus.
The problems:
1. We don't like asparagus.
2. I wasn't crazy about the idea of chive and onion cream cheese.
3. 2 cups of rice is an entire box and there's only two of us.
4. I didn't have 4 small chicken breast. I had 2 giant, mammoth chicken breast.
5. Six Ritz crackers was not very much breading. We like more breading.
6. I've never rinsed chicken in water and it seemed like extra work because I was going to have to clean my sink so I just didn't rinse it. Then the breading didn't stick and it burned onto the bottom of the skillet. While this created some tasty crunchies to top the chicken, it wasn't what we wanted. (We also ended up using a ton of olive oil!!)
7. We didn't have enough room in the skillet for all the chicken so we had to cook it in two batches. This created lots more burning on the bottom of the skillet.
8. The recipe only calls for a little bit of cream cheese. We ate every bit of cream and licked the skillet clean. We still have chicken and rice left over.
The solutions:
1. We didn't make asparagus.
2. We used regular 1/3 fat cream cheese.
3. We used the same amount of liquid and half the amount of rice. It was perfect!!
4. I knew the chicken wouldn't cook evenly if I left them 18 inches thick, so I tried cutting them into strips. This didn't work so well. Next time I'll cut it into bites or pound some chicken breasts thinner.
5. We used 15 Ritz crackers and 5T of Parmesan cheese. I threw very little crumb mixture away.
6. We must investigate this breading thing. Maybe some milk? Or I should follow the recipe and rinse them in water? I found a website that said to dry the chicken, dip it in flour, then egg, then your breading. That seems like a lot of extra dishes and calories and work and all of that. It also said the breaded chicken should rest for 5 min before cooking.
7. Don't really have a solution for this one.
8. I guess I'll have to make more cream sauce! That's ok! It was easy, fantastic, and all over yummy! I just might make it on a regular basis to put on random chicken and such... Or to drink with my meal. :)
The new recipe:
2 cups instant brown rice
1 can chicken broth, divided
15 Ritz crackers
5T Parmesan cheese
About a pound of chicken, cut into bite size pieces or pounded into submission
Oil for cooking (way more than 2t)
1/3 cup cream cheese
Mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan. Dip chicken in milk or egg, dip in breading. Let sit for 5 min.
Cook rice using 1-1/4 cup of broth and 1/2 cup water.
Cook in skillet, trying not to knock off too much breading.
Make the most amazing sauce on the planet and try not to eat it while it's still boiling in the skillet. Lick splatters off of stove.
Serve chicken with cream sauce over a beautiful bed of rice.
Be thankful that you're eating at home and not in public. Moan loudly. Continue eating. Moan some more. Steal the chicken from your spouse's plate. Lick your plate clean.
