This has been a favorite ever since I was a kid. I remember requesting it for my birthday dinner on a number of years, as well as every time I came home from college. It was just so tasty that I figured it would be too hard to make... so, I had my mom make it for me every chance that I got. Then I got married, and of course I wanted to impress my new husband. I made this dish one of our first dinners and it was a hit. Better yet, it wasn't so hard as I had expected it to be.
This dish is pretty simple, both in preparation and in ingredients. I like that.
So, here we go...
First crush up some saltine crackers. I used to do this by hand... crazy me. Use a food processor if you have one for goodness sake! You want it to be pretty fine so that it will coat the chicken evenly. Put it on a plate. It's so much easier to use a plate than a bowl.
Whisk together the milk & eggs until they are nice and smooth.
Trim the excess fat off the chicken breasts and dust them modestly with salt and garlic powder on each side.
Dip the chicken in the egg mixture...
Then in the cracker mixture. You are more than welcome to scoop extra crumbs on top of the chicken and press it on a little to be more thorough.
Make sure that the chicken has a nice full coat of the cracker crumbs on all sides. I'm not sure, but I think that this helps to keep it from drying out as well as adding a great texture.
Brown those babies in oil. I used olive oil. You can use whatever kind of oil you are comfortable using.
Make sure the oil is hot enough that it sizzles when you put the chicken in. Don't flip them until they are nice and golden and crispy. Just a reminder that the point of this is not to cook the chicken. That comes later. Just get the outside nice and crunchy. It took me 3-4 minutes each side, but you really just judge if they are ready to be flipped over by the way they look.
Remove the pan from the heat. Take the chicken out and pat it with paper towel to remove the excess grease. Then put it back in the pot. If you don't have a pot/pan that can be used on the stove top and in the oven you can just use a regular frying pan and any oven safe dish you want. So now the chicken is in the baking dish.
Pour over the chicken broth and lemon juice. Try not to pour it on top of the chicken, but more around it.
Pop it in the oven at 350° F for 30 minutes. If you can keep yourself from devouring it right away, you should let if rest for a few minutes before you dig in.
And there you have it.
Dick Van Patten Lemon Chicken
From my mother's recipe box
3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt
garlic powder
1 package crackers
1 egg
1/3 c milk
3-4 T olive oil
1/2 c chicken broth
1/3 c lemon juice
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat your oven to 350°.
Finely crush one package of cracker crumbs. Put them on a large plate and set aside.
Whisk together the egg and milk in a bowl until it is nice and smooth. Set it aside.
If needed, trim your chicken breasts. Sprinkle garlic powder and salt on each side.
Dip the chicken in the egg mixture.
Dip the chicken in the cracker crumbs. Make sure that the chicken is evenly coated with the crumbs.
Heat your oil in a pan. Place the chicken in the pan, and brown it on each side until it is golden and crispy.
Remove the chicken from the pan and remove the excess oil by gently patting the chicken breasts with paper towel. Put the chicken in the baking dish.
Pour the chicken broth and lemon juice (I used a little bit more lemon juice than called for because I love lemon flavor) into the pan. Pour it around the chicken rather than over it.
Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over the chicken.
Put the chicken in the oven and set your timer for 30 minutes.
Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
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