Yum, Yum

Tonight I wanted something new for dinner, but I hadn't been to the grocery store in a while and Ty informed me that I wasn't allowed to drive anywhere. (Apparently, I'm not a good driver and that doesn't mix well with icy roads!) So, I started searching for a recipe that I had all the ingredients for. I stumbled across these two dishes: Baked Parmesan Basil Fries and Ranch Style Chicken.

Recipe and picture from Love and Olive Oil.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

4 medium red potatoes
Directions:

In bowl, combine parmesan cheese, oil, basil, and garlic powder. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch sticks; add to cheese mixture and toss to coat.
Spread evenly on a large cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan coated with nonstick cooking spray, trying to keep all the fries in a single level. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then flip. Bake 20 more minutes or until crisp and tender. Sprinkle with additional parmesan if desired.

Ranch Style Chicken Recipe and photo from The Pioneer Woman.

This recipe does not contain ranch dressing like one would think from the name.

Ingredients:
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

Thick cut bacon (I used turkey bacon.)

Bacon grease

HoneyDijon Mustard

Lemon juice

Paprika

Crushed Red Pepper

Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Canola oil

Directions:

To begin, mix together 1/2 cup Dijon or country/grainy mustard with 1/2 cup honey. Add juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. And have some fun here! Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like things a little spicy. Whisk it together until smooth.

Next, just add all the chicken to the bowl with the marinade. You’ll want to cover this with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for at least an hour—usually I let it go about 2 to 3 hours, but that’s only because I’m always running behind.
While the chicken is marinating, go ahead and fry up some bacon. Keep in mind that the bacon will eventually go into the oven, so you don’t want to get it too crisp in the skillet.

Next, and this is important, reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon grease, and go ahead and clean out the skillet. Otherwise, it’ll get too smoky.
When you’re ready to prepare the chicken, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade into the sink. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with an equal quantity of Canola Oil in the clean skillet over medium-high to high heat. (We want to sear the chicken, not cook it completely.) When the grease is sufficiently heated, add a batch of chicken to the skillet. Don’t overcrowd the skillet—just 3 pieces is usually enough. Cook just until brown/blackish areas appear. Each side should cook for a maximum of 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Repeat with all chicken breasts. Then put them in the pan and bake for 10 minutes. Take out of oven and put the bacon and cheese on the chicken. Put back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

ENJOY!