Recipe for Memories {Recipe: Company Chicken}

One of the reasons I wanted to do this blog with my daughter is to teach her some of the recipes I grew up with. My mother passed away before any of her grandchildren were born. One of the ways my kids get to know her is through some of the dishes she used to make. Often when we prepare one of her recipes, I will share stories about her. In part this blog will be record of some of her recipes with a bit of the stories added in, along with new recipes and stories.

One of my favorite photos of my mother. 

To me, this is the quintessential 1970's dish. It quick, easy, and uses a processed snack food, something that was becoming increasingly popular in the 70's. Like many women in the 70's, my mother went back to work. She would sometimes come home with some new recipe that someone at work would share with her. This recipe was not something she normally would have made. I mostly recall having chicken just broiled with salt, pepper and maybe garlic powder. My family and I thought this was one of the best chicken dishes ever!

My mom practiced "clean eating" before the term was ever used. Her idea of a snack was carrots or celery. She would occasionally let us put peanut butter on the celery. The only time she bought crackers was when one of us was sick, and it was just saltines. On very rare occasions would she buy processed food; it wasn't until she made this chicken that we tried Cheez-Its. The bonus of this dish it didn't use the whole box of Cheez-Its, so we had some to snack on!! Unfortunately for my kids there in now a 7 ounce box which is just enough for this recipe and there are no leftovers.

This recipe was somewhat forgotten for awhile because it is not the healthiest, but my nephew requested it while visiting a few years ago (turns out his mother would make it occasionally-apparently my mother had passed the recipe onto her when she married my brother). I had forgotten how good this chicken is! My kids love it as well. I did update it a little to make it a smidge healthier by substituting Greek yogurt for the sour cream and I use the butter sparingly.

Company Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups cheese flavored crackers (a 7-ounce box of Cheez-It Crackers is just enough)
1 cup 2%Greek yogurt or sour cream (note: this usually is a bit too much, start with 1/2 cup and add more if needed)
2-3 tablespoons of butter

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13x9- inch baking pan and a 8x8x2-inch baking pan with cooking spray (one 12x17 inch baking sheet would work too). Set aside.

Clean and dry chicken breast, then set aside. 

Crush the cheese flavored crackers into fine crumbs. This can be done by putting them in a plastic zip-lock bag and crushing them with a rolling pin, in a food processor or, the way I do it, in a blender. Place the crumbs in a shallow bowl, baking dish, or a pie plate. Set aside. 

Place the yogurt in a shallow bowl, baking dish, or pie plate.

Set up an assembly line with chicken, yogurt, cheese crumbs, then baking pans. Dip the chicken in the yogurt (scrape some off if it is too thick), roll in cheese crumbs, then place in baking pan. Repeat until all of the chicken breasts are coated. Don't overcrowd the chicken in the pan. Top each chicken breast with a thin pat of butter. 

Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until thermometer inserted into the thickest  part of the biggest chicken breast reads 165°F. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Serves 6

Happy Memory Making!