Baked Dorothy Lynch Chicken

       I'm not sure if anyone outside of the Upper-Midwest knows what Dorothy Lynch is, but growing up in my house it was a staple used as often as ketchup. Dorothy Lynch is a sweet "Homestyle Dressing" that is probably most commonly used on salads. That's not the way I was taught to use this stuff, though. Nope, my dad showed me that it could go with any hotdish (casserole), meat, salad, potato, you name it. As I was reminiscing about my dad's fascination with Dorothy Lynch I thought to myself, "Dipping chicken in Dorothy Lynch is really good . . . why don't I try marinating chicken in it?!" So I did. (Unfortunately my "clever idea" wasn't so clever as the packaging itself recommends using the dressing as a marinade. Who knew?) To give the chicken a crunchy texture, I rolled it in some panko crumbs. I had never tried marinating anything in Dorothy Lynch before, so this was a fun and new experience for me. The dressing gave the chicken an extra level of sweetness that it usually doesn't have. Plus, it made the chicken extra juicy. Super yummers. Anyway, for anybody who grew up loving Dorothy Lynch, this chicken is a great excuse to go and buy yourself another bottle. For those who have never heard of Dorothy Lynch, this is a fun recipe to try to introduce you into the world of sweet dressing awesomeness.

Baked Dorothy Lynch Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup Dorothy Lynch
• 2 cups Panko crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

--Combine the Dorothy Lynch and chicken breasts into a gallon-sized Ziploc baggie. Let marinate in the refrigerator for an hour. (If you pound the chicken a bit flatter, you can probably marinate for only 30 minutes. My chicken breasts were thick so I went for an hour and could have even went longer. The longer you marinate, the more flavor soaks into the meat.)

--Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

--In a wide, shallow bowl, pour in a cup of the Panko crumbs and a half teaspoon of salt. (You can add more crumbs and salt to this mixture as you dip your chicken in it.)

--Take your marinated chicken, and before you dip it into the Panko make sure it is thoroughly coated in the Dorothy Lynch. Then lay the chicken in the crumbs, rolling it over to make sure it is thoroughly coated. Once completely covered in crumbs, place the chicken breast on a baking sheet. (The pan doesn't need to be pre-sprayed.) Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.

--Once all of the marinated chicken breats are thoroughly coated in Panko crumbs and on the baking sheet, bake for 1 hour, or until done.

--Serve warm with a side dish of your choice and enjoy.

Happy Cooking!

--H