Time-saving chicken recipe from Hellmann’s

As much as I try to plan our menus and do some of the prep work early in the day, time escapes me and I often find myself at 6pm completely clueless as to what to make for dinner. Does this ever happen to you? Whatever I make needs to be fast (my kids are stahhhhving, always!) and delicious (for my hard-to-please husband), so I’m always looking for yummy, tried and true time-saving recipes.

Hellmann’s has some good ones. Recipes, that is. Did you know that you can use mayo not only as a spread on sandwiches and a binder for egg salad… but can cook with it, too? I actually figured this out a few years ago, on my own. I wanted to make chicken tenders for my daughters, and at the last minute, realized I was all out of eggs and there was no time to go to the grocery store. I’d ‘borrowed’ from my neighbors more times than I care to mention, so instead I looked in my fridge for a quick alternative, and decided I’d try brushing the chicken with mayonnaise. After all, it has eggs in it, right? And this worked like a charm. The chicken was juicy on the inside and crispy and golden on the outside. It’s also much less messy than dredging the chicken in flour and dipping in egg!

While I make traditional chicken tenders often, it’s fun to change things up a bit once in a while. That’s why I liked this unique recipe that incorporates orange peel and dried cranberries into the crust. Reminiscent of a holiday meal, but so much faster!

CRANBERRY ORANGE STUFFING CRUSTED CHICKEN

4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes      Cook Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise (you can use the Light or Canola Cholesterol Free varieties if you’d like!)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped (I tossed mine in the food processor to save time!)
• 1/2 tsp. grated orange peel (smells soooo good)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 1-1/4 lbs (I used chicken tenderloins because I had them on hand, but chicken breasts are cheaper)
• 1/2 cup seasoned cube stuffing mix, finely crushed (I basically pulverized mine, also in the food processor. Figured it would go over better with the kids this way! But crushing them in a Ziploc bag would probably work out better, texture-wise.)

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Combine mayonnaise, cranberries and orange peel in medium bowl. Arrange chicken on baking sheet. I sprayed it with cooking spray for easy clean up.

• Evenly top chicken with mayonnaise mixture, then sprinkle with stuffing crumbs.

• Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Try the middle or lower rack so the crust doesn’t brown too much.

The photo isn’t that great, but this chicken turned out so yummy! A 1/2 cup of mayo and bread crumbs doesn’t seem like much, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that a little goes a long way. I would never have thought to use orange peel in something like this, but it added a nice brightness to it. And the cranberries… oh em gee. They practically melted into the crust but added so much flavor! I didn’t disclose to my kids the ingredients in this dish, but I didn’t hide it from them either. Cleaning their plate, no questions asked? Priceless. This never happens. I served the chicken with leftover mashed potatoes and green beans. Just like Thanksgiving! 😉

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Hellmann’s product, recipes, and additional incentives were provided to me, but all opinions stated are my own.