Ranch Parmesan Chicken

(I didn't have time for any fancy photo because dinner was running late. Someone might have forgotten to turn the oven on. Food typically cooks better in an oven that has been turned on. Oh and something weird happened when I uploaded the pictures and this is underlined along with some other weird issues that obviously have to do with html. I don't know how to fix that kind of stuff!!)

This was a hit with the family! Well, minus Luke who doesn't like anything I cook unless it comes in the form of a baked good. I asked him several times what he didn't like about it and he couldn't give me an answer. I think he just chooses not to like it whether or not he likes it... does that make sense? I will definitely be making these again and again! I'm thinking about trying them as nuggets and I might could get Luke to eat them!

I used chicken tenderloins for this but you could also use chicken breast. Don't you love a good picture of raw chicken? Marinate chicken in dressing (have you tried making your own?) for at least 1/2 hour. I let mine go for about an hour.

Mix your breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings. I like to use my pie plate for things like this. It makes it easy to dredge! For my breadcrumbs, I used 4 slices of whole wheat bread that I toasted for about 5 minutes in the oven, then put in my little chopper thingy... you know what that is right?

Lay all of your chicken into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Try not to let them touch, though that's not easy as you can see in my picture! The little bit of space between them helps them to get crispy on the bottom! Oh and don't forget to soak your hands in clorox and then scour them under hot water since you were handling raw chicken... and then clorox every surface of your kitchen! Just kidding....

Sort of.

Pop them into the oven and cook for about 25 minutes. They come out nice and crispy! So easy!

Ranch Parmesan Chicken (adapted from The Baking Beauties)

10-12 chicken tenderloins (or 4 chicken breast)

1 cup ranch dressing

1 and 1/4 cups bread crumbs

1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp seasoning salt (I use Lowry's)

1/2 tsp pepper

Marinate chicken in ranch dressing for at least 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a 9 x 13 in baking dish. Mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and seasonings together. Coat chicken in breadcrumb mixture, letting excess dressing drip off before dredging. Lay chicken down in a single layer, trying not to let the chicken touch. Bake at 400 for 25-35 minutes or until chicken is done (this will depend on whether or not you use tenders or breast).

Be encouraged!

I have a love/hate relationship with facebook. I think I've mentioned this before. I could share a list of reasons why facebook gets on my nerves but today I'll share one reason why I love it. I got on fb earlier this morning and saw two people had posted this video. I'm a fan of John Piper and an even bigger fan of Matt Chandler, so I had to watch. And I just turned into a puddle of tears. A thankful, puddle of tears. It's so good to be reminded of His love, His grace, His goodness.. all of which is unmerited. So, believer, watch it and be encouraged.

Menu Plan Monday 10/3/11

Better late than never, right? Here is our (rather boring) menu this wonderful fall week:

Sloppy Joes, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes

Best Whole Chicken In A Crock Pot (I'll let you know if it is!), Peas, Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Biscuits (a recipe I'm working on!)

Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Carrots and Ranch Dip

Spaghetti Bake, Salad

That's it! We had dinner with my mom tonight so these four dinners will last us until next week. If by chance it doesn't, I've got veggie soup in the freezer! :)

I bought a few cans of pumpkin to have on hand and I'm thinking about making these this week... Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins... yum!

Check out Orgjunkie.com for more menu planning ideas!

WFMW: Gentle, Semi-Homemade Hand Soap

Ok, so it's not really 'homemade' if you just add water. But it is economical and good for you!

A while back I bought Dr Bronners Baby Mild Soap at Target to use in my homemade disinfecting wipes. A friend of mine mentioned to me that she thought that the sulfates and parabens in her hand soap (and mine too!) were causing a rash on her hands. So, I set out to see what I could find on the internet about healthy hand soaps. Isn't the internet amazing!? Sometimes I hate it because it can suck up all your time but it is a wonderful wealth of resources as well!

As I was reading about the different methods and products others use I thought, "Dr. Bronners!" I first mixed some with water in a normal soap dispenser but it was watery and while I didn't mind, it did make a mess. So, I thought some more and then read somewhere about using a foaming soap dispenser for homemade soaps.

I went out and bought the cheap Wal*Mart foaming soap ($1.97) and dumped it down the drain (I know, wasteful!) I then replaced it with an ounce of Dr. Bronners (which is concentrated) and filled the rest up with water (totals 8 oz). It worked perfectly! The only downside that I have read about is that sometimes the oils in the soap will clog up the pump. I'm thinking that running hot water through the pump every once in a while may help with this!

I am soo pleased with this method. Here is the breakdown in pricing:

Dr. Bronners 32 oz @ $18 = $0.56 per bottle of soap ~ Target

If you ordered this on Amazon, the price right now is $16.49 and qualifies for free shipping (when you add $8.51 of other eligible items). I plan on doing this the next time I'm stocking up on coconut oil, maple syrup or rapadura. So, the price per bottle would be slightly less.

So, why is this so much better for you?

1. It doesn't contain parabens and sodium lauryl sulfates (click the links to read some of the concerns of these ingredients) .

2. It is NOT antibacterial.

"Numerous studies show that antibacterial soap is no more effective than ordinary soap in cleaning your hands. Either kind lifts off germ-laden dirt. But antibacterial soap kills helpful bacteria on the skin, freeing up valuable real estate so that harmful bacteria can move in later. " Read the full article here.

Check out this post about the evils of Triclosan which is in numerous antibacterial soaps.

3. This is a personal result that for some reason I didn't expect! I have terribly dry hands because I wash them often during the day! I can hardly believe how in just a few days of switching to this soap how good my hands look! I even made the Hubs feel them a few nights ago to see the difference! No more rough, cracking skin! It's smooth and soft!

So, if you're looking for a healthy, inexpensive hand soap... give this a try! It works for me!

Just a little side note: I know that articles you read on the internet can be swayed one way or the other (though several are not blog posts but medical journals). Either way, there are gray areas in some of the information available on these subjects. But obviously there is research out that that has caused some concern, so I choose to err on the side of caution until scientific evidence is fully established.