Breaded Baked Chicken

I'm on a roll! I've planned out all of our family dinners for the month of January and I haven't missed a day...haven't strayed off calendar. Not that straying would be awful. I should've made a New Years Resolution this year. If I had, this would be it, having a plan and sticking to it. It really makes my life so much easier. I know what to buy when I'm grocery shopping and I had an idea of when to start preparing dinner because I know what I'm going to make in advance. I must be the first Mom to ever do this! ;) It also means I'm not throwing together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my preschooler because I'm afraid he won't eat what I'm making or can't wait until I get it finished.

Tonight I went super simple with a breaded baked chicken recipe that I adapted from...Country Crock?! Sounds strange but the recipe is so simple that I had to give it a try. It does have one "questionable" ingredient. Butter. But, hey, can't always dredge in eggs. I also made a "kids tender" version for my son.

Ingredients

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used seasoned Panko)
3 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 each boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbs melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese and garlic powder. Dip chicken into melted butter, then in crumb mixture. Arrange chicken on a roasting pan.
3. Bake for 20 minutes.

I put the mixture in a plastic bag and then tossed the chicken inside. Super easy clean up. I also used pan spray on the roasting pan.

My husband, the "meat eater", really liked it. He liked it for the simplicity. He thought it was a nice light, healthy meal. I had to tell him the secret ingredient was butter. Not as healthy as it could've been. It doesn't use that much butter, but using an egg to dredge seems healthier.

My preschooler gave it the "thumbs up"! How could he not? Chicken tenders. Any way I prepare them he seems to like them.