Tonight’s dinner was good.
It was better than good . . . it was delicious.
It tastes like a fancy schmancy restaurant kind of dinner!
I incorporated the sauce for my Favorite Pasta dish and simply poured it over Browned Chicken Breasts. An hour in the oven (covered with foil) and you have a meal fit for a king! Under our chicken is a bed of brown rice, but you could also use Pasta, mashed potatoes, vegetables or just eat the chicken as is. The chicken is fall apart tender and the sauce is scrumptious! You could toss in sauteed mushrooms, onions, veggies or a number of other ingredients to the sauce before baking as well.
1. Start by tossing 6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a bag of seasoned flour and coat well. I just use salt & pepper to season. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter or margarine and a few tablespoons of olive oil over med/high heat in a skillet. Lay the floured breasts in the hot oil and brown very well on both sides.
2. Lay the browned breasts in a 9×13 inch glass baking dish. Make sure that you drain the leftover oil away from the chicken, but KEEP all the browned bits. You’ll want to add all those crispy bits to your baking dish as well. Set aside, while you make the sauce.
3. I wanted to put crisp bacon in my sauce, as well as on top of the chicken when it was all baked. Just line a large baking sheet with heavy duty foil. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees. Place the strips of bacon on top of the foil. Place in oven for about 20 minutes or until it’s done enough for your liking. You could also wrap the bacon around each browned chicken breast if you like. (If you make bacon, you can reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease to use for the roux)
Note: Keep in mind that you have so many options with this dish. You could pound the chicken breasts flat, lay a slice of smoked ham and a slice of cheese on top and roll the chicken up. Secure the chicken with a toothpick so that it stays in a nice rolled shape while baking. The sauce also has grated Parmesan and cheese in it, so it is delicious on it’s own.
Yes . . . the sauce is so much better than canned soup!
Make the sauce. Make sure that you do not let the sauce boil. Remember: If the sauce seems too thick for you, simply add a touch more milk, cream or chicken broth.
Pour the sauce over the chicken.
Note: You could skip the step of browning the chicken, but all those crispy browned bits really add flavor to the sauce.
I also sprinkled a bit of parsley, salt & pepper and crumbled about 4 pieces of crisp bacon over the top.
Cover the baking dish with foil.
Let bake for 45 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Note: The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken breasts. You will want the chicken to be fall apart tender. Take a fork and if the chicken falls apart easily, then it’s ready. Serve the chicken as is, or lay it on a bed of rice, pasta, mashed potatoes or cooked vegetables. Spoon additional sauce over the top as desired.
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CHICKEN BREASTS GOURMET
- 6 to 8 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 6 to 8 pieces of crisp fried bacon
Directions for Chicken:
Toss each boneless, skinless chicken breast in a bag of flour that has been seasoned with salt & pepper Coat well. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter along with a few tablespoons of olive or Crisco oil in a skillet over medium high heat. When the grease is hot, place the floured breasts in the skillet, and brown very well on both sides. Lay the browned chicken in a 9×13 ” glass baking dish and set aside.
Directions for cooking bacon the easy way:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with heavy duty foil. Lay the strips of bacon on top of the foil. Place the pan in the center of the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the bacon is done as you desire. I like mine pretty crisp. Note: If you prefer to wrap the bacon around each browned chicken breast, you will need to leave the bacon a bit flexible! Drain the grease away from the bacon, and reserve 1 tablespoon for the roux.
For the sauce:
- 1 cup milk
- 1cup whipping cream or half & half
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups Cheddar, Swiss or Colby cheese – grated
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
- 2 tablespoons butter or use 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon bacon grease
- 2 heaping tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder or use sauteed onions instead
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
Directions for sauce:
Over medium heat, melt butter and add the salt, pepper, pepper flakes, onion powder and the sugar. Whisk together. Add the flour, and stir quickly until the roux is bubbly and smooth. Continue whisking and slowly add the milk, cream, chicken broth. ( I combine all of this together, then just pour it all in at once)
Continue whisking over medium heat until it has thickened – about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn heat to low!
Add the grated cheeses. (Cheddar, Colby, Swiss & Parmesan) Stir well until nice and smooth and creamy. Squeeze in 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice if desired.
Note: If the sauce seems a bit too thick after all the cheese has been added, simply add a bit of chicken broth or milk and stir well. This sauce should not be as thick as pancake batter. You will want it a bit thinner. If you want additional seasonings add them.
Pour the sauce over top the browned chicken in a 9×13 inch glass baking dish. Toss in about 4 pieces of crumbled bacon. Reserve some for the top as garnish.
Cover the chicken with foil, and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 45 -60 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the THICKNESS of your chicken breasts. When it pulls apart easily with a fork, it’s ready and tender. Place a chicken breast on top of pasta, mashed potatoes, rice or cooked veggies or eat the chicken as is. (That is still my favorite way!)
Spoon extra sauce over the top of each breast and crumble additional bacon on top if desired.
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by Get Off Your Butt and BAKE
This sounds amazing. I love adding sauces to chicken. I can definitely see myself making this a variety of different ways!
This looks absolutely delicious! So full of all kinds of deliciousness on one plate!
I made this tonight! Chicken and rice was on the menu already, so I just used your recipe. Fabulous! I substituted sour cream for the half and half/heavy cream. I also cut the chicken into smaller pieces so it’d be easier for the kids to eat. It worked well and tasted yummy. I might have to have another serving after the kids go to bed. =)
YUM!! This I’d like for sure. Stacey too. I’m going to have to try!
We had this for supper last night served over brown rice. OMG, this was good. I could have eaten the sauce with a spoon. Oh wait, I did! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Michle
This just got added to my dinner list for next week. I can not wait to try it!
Wow! These look really great! Bookmarked to make real soon. I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken!
Looks fantastic! Bacon makes everything better.
This was delicious!! Very versitile recipe. I added sauted mushrooms to the top of each chicken breast. Great for leftovers too.
That looks fabulous! Can’t wait to try it!
OH my WORD. On the menu for next week. I’m in such a rut and it looks like you are going to pull me out. Added to a board on Pinterest. Just discovered your blog. Looking forward to the recipes,even though I’m more of a savory cook.
This looks so good! Your blog is lovely, beautiful photos!
I made this tonight and it was marvelous,the whole family enjoyed it!
I’m not much of a chicken person but this I have to try! Thanks for sharing 🙂
OMG I made this today for the 1st time and it is fabulous! I made it early today can’t wait for my husband and the kids to try it. It’s a keeper! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I came across your website last month through pintrest. I immediately made this for dinner and my husband absolutely loved it. Usually I leave the “gourmet” cooking to him but I thought I’d try my hand at it for a change. This dish was simple enough for me to make and turned out great. I now have this website bookmarked for future use.
Made this for my parents anniversary. I minced half a yellow onion instead of the onion powder. Turned out so good. Soaked up the extra sauce on my plate with ciabatta bread.
I was wondering how this dish would work out if you made it ahead and stuck it in the fridge or freezer for later use?? The cheese sauce makes me think it would be clumpy. Has anyone tried it? Thanks. I am making it for dinner tonight and can’t wait to try it.
Hi Callie,
I’ve never put this dish in the freezer, however I have made it ahead of time and stuck it in the fridge.
It’s also warms up great for leftovers as well. When re-heating, don’t microwave it, rather heat it up
in a 250 degree oven until sauce & chicken are hot. Hope this helps,
Jonna
Wow! I used to make something close to this (I made mine all in the skillet) YEARS ago and had forgotten all about it….
Looks delicious! this just may go back into the rotation…. Thanks!
Hi Jonna. I love your site and your wonderful approach to food and family. I have a challenge coming up and I wonder if you could give me any advice. I’m part of a dinner club of 12 people. I need a menu that is gluten free and has no vegetables in the main dish other than onions, garlic and maybe mushrooms if they can be picked out – one of the guys doesn’t eat vegetables!
It would be great if some of it could be prepared ahead so that I can enjoy my guests when they arrive. Anything come to mind?
Thanks, Jonna. You are the best!
Any idea how this would turn out if cooked in the crock pot instead of the oven?
I live for that sauce! I love it in you pasta dish can’t wait to try it with chicken.
OMG….. This was so delicious. Husband loved it so much he already asked for it again.
Hi Lissette,
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Jonna
Made this tonight and it was incredible! My fiancé raved over it and he’s usually not very opinionated with recipes, But with his first bite I got a “save that recipe!!!” Thank you!
Hi Lauren,
Thanks so much! It’s our fav as well. The sauce we use over everything!
Jonna