Ranch Smothered Chicken

[Kristine]

This turned out pan-licking good. :yum:

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup diced onion
1 med red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 can mushroom pieces and stems
ground pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup three-cheese ranch dressing
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup dry grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz grated marble cheddar (or similar cheese)

- Place chicken breasts in 8" x 8" baking dish or similar
- add onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, then ground pepper.
- combine sour cream, ranch and mayo; spread over chicken and vegetables
- sprinkle on parm cheese, then cheddar
- bake for 1 hour at 325 F or until done.

Delish! Very rich. Makes four servings. Nice with a salad or side veggie.

Per serving:
380 calories
26 g fat
30 g protein
6 g total carb - 4 g fiber = 2 net carb

http://forum.lowcarber.org/gallery/files/5/7/0/1/smothered-chicken.jpg

[wannadanc]

I agree the flavor is wonderful .....BUT, here is what I would do differently -

I would precook the chicken to some degree before assembling in casserole. The chicken I used was fresh - but the amount of liquid that came off it was absolutely stunning - and I had to use a slotted spoon to rescue chicken/cheese from the flood.

Otherwise - A+ - and unlike my usual approach, I felt strongly enough about this one that this initial preparation was for COMPANY dinner. Rave reviews!!!

[Kristine]

Really? I noticed someone else said that in a thread for a similar recipe, but mine actually came out pretty dry. :confused: Odd.

[wannadanc]

Yes - it was floating like an island in a sea of chicken water - LOL. :agree:

BUT - it tastes MIGHTY fine - not only in round 1, but in leftover rounds, as well.

Now - maybe the reason for the fluid was the fact that I sliced the breast into bite size pieces rather than leaving it as big chicken breasts. If they had not been sliced up that way, they might not have lost their fluid. Hmmm. I think I would still slice it up, however. Do a stir fry approach. THEN - put all that great stuff on it. One could even stir fry the veggies in - and I would have added green chilies if I had been able to find my stash of that.

Anyway - thanks a bunch for the recipe.....it is part of the permanent file here. :wave:

[DrH]

This sounds yummy!!! Thanks for sharing ... Jill

[IslandGirl]

Usually it's the chicken (if you drained the mushrooms really really well). Water-chilled chicken is the norm, so much so that there are regulations limiting how much water the meat (not just chicken) is allowed to be 'holding'. Of course, water chilled chicken happens to weigh more so you're paying chicken prices for that water (and it's released when cooked as the protein tightens up).

I will only buy air-chilled chicken now (and veggie fed, but that's another story). It's technically more per pound, but then I'm not paying the chicken price for the water, either.

One more thing to consider, though nobody really likes this one. White chicken meat overcooks very very easily, being so lean and high protein -- meaning the proteins tighten up and the water is literally squeezed out, whatever water is in there in the first place.

So overcooked and waterchilled chicken is going to produce a lot of fluid...

Just some points to consider. I think an hour for 2 boneless breasts, even at 325F, is a bit high. Boneless cooks faster than bone-in, and the size will make a huge difference to the timing.


:wave:

[wannadanc]

IslandGirl - thanks so much for some good info. I just bought more breasts and will be trying it w/ the precook approach - and see if stir fry matters. You are right that the time of cooking was probably excessive as well.

[erinleigh]

Weird! Mine doesn't look like that.....hmmmmm.....

[Wildflowr6]

This really looks great -- thanks!

[TimesTwo]

This sounds good. I'll add bacon to mine. :)