Family Foodies

I am a big fan of doing the least amount of work for the highest amount of praise. That’s why I love marinades.

Take a cheap piece of meat, slap it in some marinade and soak it overnight and the next day you have a delectable entree. And you can marinate anything! Beef, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables…even fruit!

Marinades can do wonders for just about anything, and more importantly, they can make you look like a gourmet cook. Don’t go overboard, though. Marinate only one thing on the menu at a time, and don’t do it every night. Too much and people will think you’re trying to cover something up. Once or twice a week is fine, and will increase your praise factor significantly.

Marinated Oven-Fried Ranch Chicken

Prepare the day before you want to cook it.

One whole chicken, cut up
1 quart buttermilk
2 packages ranch dressing mix
1 cup of cooking oil

Place chicken pieces in a baking dish, meaty sides down, that they just fit into without overlapping. Pour the buttermilk over them, cover with plastic wrap, and put into the refrigerator. Marinate overnight, and keep marinating until you’re ready to cook dinner.

Open the packages of ranch dressing mix and pour the contents of each into a strong, gallon-sized plastic ziplock plastic bag. Take two pieces of the chicken at a time, shake off the excess buttermilk, and drop into the bag. Shake well. Pour the cooking oil into a baking dish that, once again, is just big enough to hold the chicken pieces without them overlapping. Place each chicken piece into the baking dish, meaty side down, after you’ve shaken them in the ranch dressing mix.  Place the baking dish in the oven and bake chicken for 30 minutes, then turn all the pieces over and bake for another 20 to thirty minutes.

This chicken is delicious, and if you really want to impress you can serve it with potatoes au gratin and green beans almondine. It also goes great with potato salad, so just do what you want! The chicken itself is a hit.