Mama's Potato Chip Chicken!

This is a my mother's recipe for oven fried chicken.  It's a little different than the one I have posted before that I use, but it is equally as good and uses items you more than likely have on hand.   You can adjust how many pieces of chicken you bake according to the number of people you are serving, but this will easily coat 6 chicken breasts.  

 I always tend to cook more than needed, because the leftovers are so good and my mother always has cooked by the rule that she would rather have too much than too little.  That was instilled in me, so I always cook like I am cooking for a big family. Mama has always said that even though her family, growing up, didn't have a lot of different things to eat at meals, they always had plenty of what they did have and no one was ever turned away from their table. 

 I am used to feeding men and growing boys, so any amount of chicken is never too much.   When my son was growing up and lived at home, his friends ate with us quite a bit and I always enjoyed feeding all of them.  Wow, could those boys eat!  Even though my grocery bill has probably gotten smaller these days, I would love to have them all back eating with us again.  Those were fun times! 

Here is what you need for this oven fried chicken:

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

1 cup Ruffles potatoes chips crumbs  (The Ruffles have more texture)

1 cup corn flake crumbs

1 cup flour

seasoned salt

black pepper

Soak the chicken breasts in salt water for about 30 minutes before preparing it.  This is called  "brining" and it not only adds flavor, but it tenderizes the chicken.    Just dissolve about 2 tsp. of salt in enough water to cover the chicken.

Place the melted butter in a shallow dish and dip each chicken breast in the butter.  

Mix the potato chip crumbs, corn flake crumbs, and flour in a shallow dish and roll the chicken coated in butter in the crumbs.  Place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.   I like to use Reynold's nonstick foil for this.  If you do not have it, buy some and try it. Nothing sticks to this stuff. 

Sprinkle any leftover crumbs over the tops of each piece.  Sprinkle each piece with seasoned salt and black pepper to taste. 

Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.  

***You can cut each breast into about  3 pieces for chicken strips and coat.  Reduce the baking time accordingly.