Cheddar Chicken

Last night, we officially kicked off the holiday season with our Christmas dinner with The Neighbors. The kids haven’t seen each other in a few weeks and couldn’t wait to get together. Between that and exchanging presents, it was all they could do to contain their excitement.

With a to-do list far longer than time available, my menu for dinner changed frequently, with items getting added and subtracted. I eventually settled on revisiting some tried-and-trues, aiming to keep things simple.

Although I haven’t mentioned it before on Sweetnicks, Cheddar Chicken is a recipe that I’ve been making for a good four or five years now. It literally takes just minutes to pull together, and after a little bit of time in the oven, you’re rewarded with moist chicken that has a nice, cheesy crust on top of each piece. In a word, yum. Because of its simple preparation, it works well for a weeknight meal, but is different enough that it can be used for entertaining as well. Course the fact that it’s dredged in a little bit ‘o melted butter first means it’s definitely not an everyday meal, but good to have in the files nonetheless.

I originally found the recipe on All Recipes. The only change I have made is that instead of the crushed cornflakes, I always use crushed Cheez-It crackers. If you’re going to go for it, you might as well go all the way, right?

Cheddar Chicken
Recipe courtesy of All Recipes.

1 cup crushed cornflakes cereal (I substitute 1 cup crushed Cheez-It crackers)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter, melted
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, mix the cornflake crumbs, Parmesan cheese and Cheddar cheese. Dip the chicken breasts in the melted butter, and roll them in the cornflake crumb mixture. Place chicken in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Yield: 8 servings

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