Tortilla Crusted Chicken

Tortilla Crusted Chicken

  I will make a number of different posts on things to coat your chicken and pork chops in, because I can't be the only one tired of the same old baked/fried chicken and pork chops.The last time I made this dish I forgot to put the shredded cheese int he mayo mix and it was still amazing!

Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts

enough broken tortilla chips to cover all the chicken

1 tsp. chili powder

1 Tbs cilantro

1-2 cloves finely chopped garlic

2/3 cup Mayonnaise

1/3 cup shredded Cheese I use a Mexican blend some prefer Monterey Jack

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything but chicken and chips together

Slather on chicken (it may help to dry the chicken with a paper towel first)

Cover the mayo coated chicken with broken tortilla chips

Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes

To be honest I use a little more of the spices than called for but wanted to put these amounts to get people started. Feel free to add more to your taste. Now that I have tried this a few times I usually use my home mixed taco seasoning till it is about the color below.

Now I am particularly bothered by my food being or containing the wrong textures. I do not eat anything, and I mean anything soggy. If you feel the same way you will want to either flip the chicken over about half way through or just not put chips on the bottom, but thoroughly coat the top and sides.

I also recommend using parchment or baking paper whenever possible. It is good to note that you can reuse the paper after baking less messy items. The paper in this picture was first used to bake cookies. I turned it over and used it for my chicken.

Some recipes call for finely crushed tortilla chips I like mine in small to medium sized pieces. I usually just use whatever is in the bottom of the bag. Sometimes I have to break a few chips to get all the chicken covered. I find that the chips absorb some of the mayo mix flavor and end up a chewy crunchy texture.

I do take the very last of the crumbs and sprinkle them over the chip covered chicken to help ensure total coverage of the chicken.

Use your favorite toppings and side dishes to complete the meal. I was out of salsa but had some diced tomatoes with green chilies for my husbands plate. I also used sour cream, avocado, and some refried beans on the side.

My plate never looks as appetizing because I am not the biggest fan of tomatoes. Color really does make a difference in how good the food looks. I also should have used an orange plate for my meal because the amount of brown on mine is unappetizing. But I promise it was delicious. In fact this is one of my favorite dishes of all time.

I did include some of the extra chips on my plate. The chips that ended up next to the chicken and picked up some of the mayo mix that melted off. Yum!

I hope you all enjoy this chicken idea.

Easy Bath Paint Fun

Easy Bath Paint Fun!

  Looking for a quick easy activity for the kids? Is it almost bath/bed time and the little ones are a bit fussy? Just need a few minutes to yourself, even if you have to clean up after? I have the perfect bath paint recipe for you. You probably have the ingredients on hand, if not a quick trip to the dollar store will get you what you need. 

Needs List

Shaving Cream

Food Coloring

about 6 containers (I used 16 oz disposable cups)

tall spoon for mixing

Fill each cup about 1/2 to 2/3 up, add a few drops of food coloring to each cup and mix thoroughly.

Try not  to make the colors too bright or your children will be stained for a few days. 

Once thoroughly mixed set the cups in the empty bath tub with the kids and let them paint away. The colors will mix up quite a bit while painting, ending with a mostly green/brown mural.

As you can see my kids had it all over two walls and the bottom. Also of course all over themselves. Each of the paint containers was mostly empty and they had an enormously fun time. It all rinses clean with the shower head.

I followed this with a bubble bath to make sure all the paint was washed off the kids, plus they love bubble baths! Just remember that even after washing there may be faint staining of the skin most covered with paint if the colors are super bright a deep blue was our worst offender. There was no staining from this batch though.

Please share any of your favorite bath time fun ideas or other paint recipes!

p.s. for anyone worried about the disposable cups I used. My husband works in a recycling plant. These cups were returned by a customer for a slight imperfection in the printing. We used them, some of them multiple times, and returned them to be recycled. All PETE plastic in my house is recycled.