Crunchy Garlic Chicken

People who know me, know that I am a fairly organized individual and thrive on "planning"--I'm not, nor have I ever been much for spontaneity...at least regarding most things in my life. (I'm not saying I'd be devastated if my husband took me on a "surprise date" or something...HINT, HINT!!!), but for the most part, I live by my "planner" and love knowing exactly what I'm doing and when I'll be doing it! Anyway, the purpose of my little "rant" is that I knew I had everything all planned out for Christmas Eve and Christmas and knew I'd have leftover lasagna for last night (when I got home from work), but I needed something for Saturday's dinner. While I was out doing my last minute Christmas shopping this past Wednesday, I grabbed a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts, remembering that I saw a recipe in my borrowed library cookbook that I wanted to try! I was just a tad bit nervous, because my husband is a super picky eater and I didn't know if the mere fact that the recipe called for certain ingredients would turn him off, before he even tried it, but he liked it so much that he went back for seconds! I often wonder if he's being honest when he tells me he likes some of these new recipes I've been trying or if he's just saying it to avoid hurting my feelings, but going back for seconds certainly confirmed that this recipe was a "winner" in his book! I was thrilled, because it was SUPER easy to throw together and is a great recipe to add to my "quick weeknight meals" list!

Crunchy Garlic Chicken

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or parsley (I used dehydrated chives)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 cups corn flake cereal, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (again, I used dehydrated parsley)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 - 2 lbs)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray. In shallow dish, mix 2 tablespoons butter, the milk, chives, salt and garlic powder.

In another shallow dish, mix crushed cereal, parsley and paprika. Dip chicken into milk mixture, then coat lightly and evenly with cereal mixture. Place in pan. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons butter.

Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

NOTE: The package of chicken I used was about 1 3/4 lbs and contained three, good-sized chicken breasts. I ended up baking them for closer to 30 minutes, as they were fairly thick. I had bought popcorn chicken for the kids, because I wasn't sure if they would like this chicken, but next time, I will most certainly make it for them, as well! I definitely think this is a recipe that kids would enjoy! I've found that most smaller packages of chicken from the grocery store tend to contain three chicken breasts and average around 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 lbs, but you could certainly double it if you have more people in your family, or, you could make extra so you could try out the suggestion the cookbook offers--they say that the leftovers are great reheated and eaten as a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise!

Source: Adapted from Betty Crocker Money Saving Meals