How to Make Ranch Chicken (Guest Post)

Here's another tantalizing recipe from my sister...

*See update at bottom of post for my modifications, with photo!

Now, I'm not sure how readily available Ranch Dressing is here in Russia. So I did a quick search and found a dressing recipe at allrecipes.com: Ranch Dressing. The ingredients look similar to my Russian Peasant Dip, which has a tasty flavor.

In fact, the recipe might even be tastier with the homemade dressing.

Check it out after the jump.



From Emily:

The things I like about this dish are that it adds a nice coating to skinless chicken, the chicken comes out moist and tender, and it's okay if you vary the ingredients depending on what you have available. I started out with this food.com recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/ranch-chicken-thighs-42603 and my current version is below.

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup plain panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
seasoning to taste (optional)- I use mediterranean sea salt from McCormick which includes salt, pepper, garlic, basil, and oregano
1/2 to 1 cup ranch dressing


Directions:
(Preheat the oven to 375 F while you prepare the chicken.)
-Get out a baking pan that will allow you to fit in all the chicken pieces in one layer.
-Mix the bread crumbs, cheese and seasoning and spread it out on a plate. If you are not sure about the seasoning, just add some in little by little until it tastes good.
-Pour out about 1/2 cup ranch dressing into a little bowl.
-Take your first chicken piece and spoon some ranch dressing on it. Spread the dressing on both sides of the chicken with the back of the spoon. I find it easier to put the dressing on the chicken instead of dipping the chicken into the ranch and then trying to get off the excess.
-Take the piece of chicken and roll it around in the breadcrumbs to get a good thick coating. Place the chicken in the pan.
-Continue for the rest of the pieces, adding more dressing to your bowl if you run out.
-Bake the chicken for approximately 45 minutes, the timing will vary so the best way to tell if it's done is to cut into one of the pieces and check to be sure it is no longer pink.

Variations: different bread crumbs/seasoning, different dressing, different cut of chicken

*Update: my modifications

I did indeed try this recipe with the homemade dressing (recipe above) and some chicken breasts pounded very thin. It proved to be quite tasty! Make sure to get enough of the dressing on there so that the flavor shines through.

Dressing substitutes: fresh dill/garlic/chives for dried