ranch dressing Archives - The Midnight Baker

Air Fryer Ranch Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 23:00:04 +0000

More delicious chicken made in the air fryer. Love ranch flavor? You’ll love this ranch chicken..

Ranch Chicken Fast And Easy

I love chicken–it’s no secret. I also love fast chicken and I get it fast from my air fryer!

But there’s more to it than fast and easy. Chicken takes on wonderful qualities when done by this method. The powerful convection of an air fryer seems to keep chicken–any way you make it–moist and if you want to talk “crispy” it’s the only way to go!

I don’t look on this appliance as a replacement for deep frying because I don’t think it measures up since it’s pretty much two different cooking methods; therefore, it’s apples and oranges. What I love about these “fryers” is the powerful convection. Things cook so quickly, they don’t have time to dry out as the can in an ordinary oven. This ranch chicken is no exception!

Keep It Simple

There’s really nothing complicated or exotic about this ranch chicken recipe. It’s about as simple as you can get.

The coating is two ingredients. That’s it. One you may have to buy–and that’s the flour.

I discovered quite by accident that cake flour produces a much better and crunchier coating than all-purpose flour. Now I pretty much use cake flour exclusively for chicken coatings. It seems to work very well for chicken done in the air fryer. Since I discovered that, I’ve encouraged many readers to try it!

To Spritz Or Not To Spritz

I belong to a few air fryer groups. The most common question asked is, “Why does the coating on my chicken look uncooked.” That question is generally answered with another question–“Did you spray it with oil first.” And the answer is 99 percent of the time, “No.”

This is one of the things you just have to do if you want the coating to look cooked (even though it really is) and to crisp it up. Don’t omit doing it. You don’t use much oil–maybe about a teaspoon or two. It won’t break the fat or calorie bank.

This is the sprayer I use. It’s all stainless and it’s easy to clean too. I’ve tried others, but I like this one the best. The spray is much like a mist which distributes well over the food.

The Recipe

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Air Fryer Ranch Chicken

Crispy and quick chicken made in the air fryer

Prep Time10

Cook Time26

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fryer, chicken

Servings: 4

Calories: 527kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 4 lbcut up into 8 parts -OR- equivalent pre-cut chicken
oil for spraying

Seasoned Flour

1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup Ranch Seasoning -OR- 1 envelope ranch dressing/dip mix

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place flour and ranch seasoning mix in a plastic zipper bag and shake to combine.
Coat chicken parts with seasoned flour and place in a single layer in the air fryer basket skin side down. Spray lightly with oil.
Cook at 370 degrees F for 12 minutes; turn, spray lightly with oil and cook for an additional 12-14 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees/juices run clear.
Unless your air fryer is very large, you will have to cook this in shifts. If you do, repeat above steps. Times are based on air fryers that are 1700-1800Your times may vary.

Video

Nutrition

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Dilly Ranch Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Dilly Ranch Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

Here’s a hearty pasta salad you can call a complete meal. Tasty grilled chicken and a delicate dill-flavored ranch dressing will have them coming back for seconds.

This recipe came about in the most roundabout way I could have ever imagined.

First off, I like dill. I buy a plant last month, transplant it and because of the cold weather, it croaked. I don’t use dill much even though I do like it, so I just resigned myself to buying it when I needed it. Well, I needed it for some of my Grilled Salmon with Blue Cheese, so I bought some…at an OUTRAGEOUS price I might add.

Next, I like cucumbers, particularly the European kind and they were on sale buy one get one. However, I almost always end up having to throw at least half of it out. I’m on a mission here NOT to waste food!

A dilly of a salad!

So what I did was throw an extra chicken breast on the grill the other night for this because I really had a taste for some dill-flavored chicken. The two go so well together. HINT: next time you make chicken soup, throw a few sprigs of dill in with the stock. You’ll love it!

And since dill and cucumbers are made for each other, I decided to add some hunks of cukes as well. And the result was delicious and hearty…you call this one a meal.

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Dilly Ranch Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

Here’s a hearty pasta salad you can call a complete meal. Tasty grilled chicken and a delicate dill-flavored ranch dressing will have them coming back for seconds.

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Chicken, salads

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, pasta salad recipe

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 650kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 8 oz large grilled chicken breast
1 medium cucumber
1/4 cup diced red onion
8 oz uncooked rotini or pasta shape of your choice
salt & pepper to taste
additional dill sprigs for garnish
1 tbs olive oil

DRESSING

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbs finely chopped dill
1 tbs ranch dressing mix the stuff in the envelope
2-3 tbs milk

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss; set aside.
Slice cucumber in 1/2-inch slices, then quarter. Slice chicken breast about 1/8-inch thick. Add to pasta and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix all dressing ingredients, starting with 2 tbs of milk. If you desire a thinner dressing, add the additional 1 tbs milk. Stir well and add to the pasta mixture. Toss gently, coating all ingredients with dressing.
Chill for about 1 hour. Makes 4-6 servings

Nutrition

Dilly Ranch Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

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Bacon Ranch Potatoes

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Bacon Ranch Potatoes

Definitely more than a side dish…these potatoes are a meal!

When I first saw the original recipe over on Joyously Domestic, I knew this was something that would make it’s way into my menu.

Potatoes? Bacon (YEAH!)? Cheese? These are three words of pure ecstasy. How can you go wrong?

Tasty side dish

I used way more bacon–ok she said whatever you want–and the same with the cheese. But I wanted to jazz up the sauce more than the usual ranch dressing and I have to say that even though I like dill, I could NOT see it in this dish.

So what resulted was a more piquant and creamy sauce and a better (to me at least) herb addition.

Made in my favorite (but it is hard to pick) Revol baking dish and my new halogen oven. You want crispy and cooking on the “cheap” go halogen. I love mine and they cost next to nothing to run and cook in about 1/2 the time!!!

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Bacon Ranch Potatoes

Definitely more than a side dish…these potatoes are a meal!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 5

Total Time1 25

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon ranch potatoes

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 lbs red bliss potatoes cut in chunks
1/4 cup buttermilk ranch dressing the stuff in the bottle
2 tbsp Russian or Thousand Island Dressing
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp minced fresh chives or 1 tbs dehydrated
5 slices crisp cooked bacon diced
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
2 green onions chopped finely for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease an 13 x 9-inch baking pan*
In a large bowl, combine the dressings, sour cream, chives, bacon, potatoes and 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Place potato mixture in prepared pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes.
Remove foil and stir. Turn oven temperature to 400 degree F. Return pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over the potatoes. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Remove from oven and garnish with green onion.
Makes 6-8 servings. Nutrition info will be based on 8 side dish portions (no matter what, it's calorie and fat packed--which is why it's so goooooood).
*About the pan size--if you want crispier potatoes, use the 13 x 9 pan. If you want softer potatoes, use an 11 x 7 or as I did an 8 x 8 deep square baker. Bake times are the same for all pans. Cook times are for a conventional oven. A halogen oven would cook in half the time.

Nutrition

Bacon Ranch Potatoes

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