Fried Chicken Substitue

There is something you should know about me. I love fried chicken. I mean, I absolutely love it. But due to its major unhealthy factor, I only allow myself the pleasure about once a year. Jonathan always wants to take me somewhere fancy for my birthday, but every year I insist: Popeye’s is just fine.


You couldn''t possibly know this by looking at this picture, but it was taken in front of a Popeye's. How do I remember that? Because it was one of the best meals of my life. So good, I documented it in film. It happened to be on a certain holiday. The earrings should give you a clue as to which one.

However, since my fried chicken binge only lasts for one day of the year, it leaves me craving this favorite treat for the other 364 days. A few years back, my MawMaw Fern (MawMaw= what southerners call their grandmothers) taught me a recipe for Potato Chip Chicken in which you coat chicken breasts with sour cream and crushed potato chips and then bake it in the oven. True, it isn’t the healthiest chicken option, but it mimics the texture of fried chicken without the massive amount of guilt. And you can substitute some of the ingredients for more healthy options so it ends up not being so bad at all.

The most fun part about it is switching out the potato chip flavors. There is such a variety out there that you can prepare this recipe once a week and still not get tired of it. And with the plethora of unique Scottish crisp flavors, it has opened up a whole new world of Potato Chip Chicken goodness weirdness.

Last week I experimented with Mackie’s Haggis and Cracked Black Pepper flavored chips, and even though it sounds super disgusting, it was. so. good. You should totally give this recipe a try, and afterwards, you can contact me for my MawMaw’s address so that you can send her a thank you note.

Her version is much more detailed than mine, but since I’ve made this recipe so many times, I have personalized it to my own finger-lickin-chicken-lovin standards. I’ve also whittled it down to serve just two people, but it’s easily doubled if you need to feed more.
Potato Chip Chicken:
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 (8 0z) container sour cream
About 3 handfuls of potato chips/crisps of your choice
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Salsa

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230 Celsius). While oven is heating, pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and then coat with sour cream.

2. Crush about 3 handfuls worth of crisps into a ziplock bag. That’s right, I’m an avid follower of the shake’n’bake cooking school. Once the chicken is coated with sour cream, toss them into the bag and shake. Pat extra chips onto chicken breasts for even coverage. No one said this wasn’t messy. 

3. Put chicken onto a well greased cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degree F (190 C) and bake for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter and mix with garlic.

4. Remove chicken from oven and increase heat back to 450 degrees F (230 C). With a spoon, drizzle each of the chicken breasts with butter. Return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until chicken is golden.

5. Top with salsa and serve with a baked sweet potato. The baked sweet potato is optional, but really, why would you want to serve chicken with anything else?