Source: Jamie Cooks It Up!
What a busy weekend! Do you ever have those weekends that you are so busy and have ton of fun, but Sunday night you realize, you got absolutely no rest? I guess, that is why I feel like a zombie this morning. But the fun that was had, was well worth it.
For starters, I went to see the Hunger Games Friday night with some girl friends. Did any of you go to see the movie? What did you think? Before the movie we went to a pizza place and enjoyed some dollar beer specials. One of the girls said something that I thought was a marvelous idea. Instead of making New Years Resolutions, only to fail at them every year, she makes a “New Years Theme.” So at the beginning of every year, she decides on a theme for that year, for example her theme is “projects.” She has made a list of different projects she would like to accomplish each month and has found the theme works out way better than a resolution. Not sure what I would like my theme to be for this year, but will definitely give this a try! What would your New Years Theme be?
This recipe is actually healthier than it looks. Aren’t those the best? By using as many fat-free or low fat ingredients as I could or ones with whole grains, I give all of you permission to pig out on this one! Any dish that has crackers, cheddar cheese, and cream of chicken soup you know is going to be comfort food…simple…and tasty…and don’t forget, simple!
Oh, and did I mention, I had 2, yes 2, chefs eating at my house when I made this? Both got happy plate awards x2! haha
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
1 sleeve Ritz crackers (used whole grain and made this recipe with 2 sleeves but ended up with WAY to many cracker crumbs left over, and felt like a HUGE waste!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk (used reduced fat)
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (used reduced fat and also started with 3 cups but had too much left over to justify using 3 cups!)
1 teaspoon dried parsley or Italian seasoning
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup (98% fat-free)
3 tablespoons sour cream (used fat-free)
2 tablespoons butter (you need some fat)
1 bunch of brussel sprouts, quartered
2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Cover a baking sheet pan with foil and also spray with non-stick spray.
Add brussel sprouts to the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss them around to evenly coat, then spread out to an even layer. Set aside.
Cut each chicken breast into thirds
Depending on what stresses you need to release that day you can either:
a. Add all of the Ritz crackers to a large zip lock bag, and beat the crap out of it with a rolling pin.
Or
b. Use a food processor to grind all the crackers
Add the milk, cheese, and crackers to 3 separate dishes. Add salt and pepper to the cracker crumbs, shake the dish to combine.
Dip each piece of chicken, starting with the milk, next the cheese, and then the crackers. (You’ll want to press the cheese on to each side of the chicken, and press the chicken down into the crackers.) Then put each piece of chicken into the casserole dish.
Once you’ve finished dipping, pressing, and adding each piece of chicken to the casserole dish, sprinkle dried parsley or Italian seasoning over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove the foil, bake for another 10-15 minutes / until the chicken is golden brown.
During the first round of baking the chicken, I add the Brussels sprouts. They need to roast for 25-30 minutes. Stirring every 10 minutes or so.
While the chicken is cooking for the last 15 minutes, add the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and butter to a small pot over medium to medium high heat. Stir occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is heated through.
Serve the chicken with the sauce drizzled on top and the asparagus on the side. Depending on how much you love balsamic vinegar, you can add balsamic glaze to the top of the sprouts (store-bought or homemade).
This Carolina Girl 
Glad to pop in here and see this tasty recipe. Great flavors on that chicken and the sprouts really round out the meal. Your pictures are enticing. Delicious post!
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Thank you for the comment, especially about the pictures. I'm still learning to use this fancy camera of mine, but definitely seeing a difference now. Any tips are much appreciated 🙂
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Easy tip for crumbling the ritz crackers- do it while they are still in the sleeve! I squeeze then before I even open the tube of crackers and they crumble up great- tgere's nowhere they can go- do you can feel every cracker to crumble it!
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Always knew you were a smart cookie…cracker? Don't want to offend anyone by calling them a cracker, but it is appropriate in this sense lol. I'll definitely have to try that next time since that will dirty one less dish. Thanks!!
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What a lovely dinner! Oh my those brussel sprouts almost made me week in the knees. I am definitely getting some brussel sprouts today. 🙂
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Cheese freak, yes I am. I would love this and the sprouts look gorgeous.
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