Tiny Orange Bits o' Heaven

I don't know why it took us so long to figure this out.

I mean, Hubs is pretty much a crackwhore for Cheez-Its. He loves them. It takes a great deal of restraint for him to not inhale entire boxes at a time. I can understand it. I love the fake-cheesy, sodium-addled deliciousness in every tiny square bite. I like every flavor (though we only tend to buy the reduced-fat original kind.)

But Hubs? Crazy for the Cheez-Its.

The other day, while munching on them by the handful, he commented that he thinks we should use them in meals. I replied that I had recently seen an episode of "Food Network Challenge" in which one contestant utilized them as a crusty topping on Mac and Cheese. That night, some friends came over and cooked us a broccoli and cheese casserole, complete with some sprinkled, crumbled Cheez-Its on top.

Since the casserole was so tasty, and since our friends had coincidentally cooked with Cheez-Its on the same day that we had been discussing the brilliance of such a thing, we decided it would be only right to make our own Cheez-It-style meal soon.

So tonight, I picked up some boneless, skinless chicken thighs at the store. I dipped each one in milk, and then shook the chicken in a bag of Cheez-It crumbs. I baked them for 20 minutes, and OHMIGOSH - delicious.

I know this isn't exactly news. I'm sure people do it all the time. But for some reason, we went years without it occurring to us to make Cheez-It Chicken, as it's now called. YEARS have been wasted! The horror! THE HORROR!!!!!

Ahem.

Any time I find a new 'standard' meal - especially one that is easy, fast, and tasty - I get a little too excited. This is one of those times.

So there you have it. Cheez-It Chicken has worked its way into our household. I am already looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow, as well as making this same dish with different flavors in the future - Hot and Spicy? Parmesan and Garlic? Yes, please.

It would be great if the Sunshine company could send me a check for every time I said "Cheez-It" in this post.

Next time: Ugly Sweaters, Yankee Swaps, and excellent music. What a weekend it's been.