Bet On Dinner

**This post is brought to you by my sister, Laurie!**

I decided to call this chicken “Back Pocket Chicken,” because it’s the perfect recipe to keep in your back pocket for all sorts of occasions.

It’s delicious enough to serve when company comes over, but it’s totally kid-friendly. Coated in bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, it’s kind of like a glorified chicken nugget–but oh-so-much tastier. It also couldn’t be easier to throw together, which is just what you need after a long, busy day or when guests will be arriving shortly and you still need to clean the bathroom. And it’s my go-to recipe for giving at bridal showers.

You mix bread crumbs with salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, and parsley.

And then stir in parmesan cheese. (The real deal, not the stuff in the green canister.)

Chicken breasts are so ginormous these days, so I like to cut them in half to increase the surface-to-breading ratio. Then you just set up a little assembly line for yourself.

Dip the chicken in melted butter, roll it in the bread crumbs/parmesan mixture, and then place it in a greased dish (I use a 9×13″ dish, but the original recipe calls for a 15x10x1″ cookie sheet with edges). Once all the chicken pieces have been rolled, I always scoop the extra bread crumbs out of the bowl and pat them onto the top of the breasts.

Bake it for 20 or so minutes, and serve with your favorite sides. This time we did sweet potatoes and green beans, but anything can complement these babies. The parm gets so crunchy and perfect and the chicken is tender and juicy… Pull this recipe out of your back pocket often!