These warm and sunny afternoons make time slip away from me. Without realizing it, 4:30 sneaks up on me, and before I know it, it’s time to be getting dinner ready. Last week, I was outside with the kids, just enjoying the farm and working in the yard. I went inside to grab some water and saw the clock….it was 5:15. Here’s the thing – we typically eat at 5:30. I knew I needed to find something quick to put together for dinner.
I had just meal-planned, shopped for ingredients, and had a full line-up of our meals for the next three weeks. I came into the kitchen and scanned my list, looking for the quickest thing to prepare and saw “Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps.” This is a go-to meal for my family, but there were 2 problems…I had forgotten to buy the chicken strips we use for this meal, and we had eaten tacos the night before. Not wanting to serve my family a tortilla meal two nights in a row, I quickly came up with a game plan, and decided on these delicious and surprisingly easy sandwiches.
In under 30 minutes, I had a super-tasty meal and crowd-pleasing meal on the table. I served these Fried Chicken BLT sandwiches up with a raspberry yogurt salad. Put this one on your next menu plan – you won’t be sorry!
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp. your favorite spice mix blend (*I use one that includes onion, citrus, basil, cayenne…lots of good stuff!)
salt and pepper to taste (*My spice blend does not include salt, so I added about 3/4 tsp.)
buttermilk
oil for frying
6-12 slices HORMEL® BLACK LABEL® Bacon – Original
6 hamburger buns or rolls
1 large tomato
lettuce
6 slices Monterey Jack cheese
sandwich toppings to your liking
To Prepare:
1. Start by cutting your chicken breasts in half lengthwise, to create two thinner pieces. This will cut your frying time! If your breasts are still a little on the thick side, you can cover them up with plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet until they reach desired thickness.
2. Heat your oil in a large pot or dutch oven. I used ordinary vegetable oil. While your oil is warming up, place the flour and spices in a gallon size zipper bag.
3. Pour buttermilk in a shallow baking dish. Dip each piece of chicken in the buttermilk, coating both sides. Place the chicken breast into the zipper bag full of the flour and spices. Seal the bag (well!) and shake! (I typically do 2-3 pieces at a time.)
4. Place the coated chicken into the hot oil, and cook for about 6-7 min. per side, or until the coating is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. (Frying time will vary based on the size and thickness of your chicken.)
5. While the chicken breasts are frying away, start cooking your bacon! Fry it in a pan, bake it in the oven, use the 90’s sensation “The Bacon Wave.” However it floats your boat, get that bacon nice and crispy!
6. Once your chicken and bacon are cooked through, let them drain on some paper towels to soak up the extra grease/oil.
7. Assemble your sandwiches! I used a nice thick piece of Monterey Jack cheese, but that’s optional. Various family members topped their sandwiches with mayo, mustard, or Ranch dressing. I’m not a big fan of condiments, so I just used the cheese, lettuce, and plenty of tomato.
8. Serve and enjoy!
*As a member of the Hormel Extended Family Bloggers, I receive free products and information to facilitate my posts. All opinions are my own.
Want even MORE awesome recipes featuring HORMEL® BLACK LABEL® Bacon? Check out the Hormel Recipes Page! Every time I visit their page, my mouth waters and I get so many good ideas!!
This looks delicious!! My family would love this!