Kraft recently asked me and several other bloggers to be part of their Fresh Take Flavor Makers blogging program, thereby challenging us to come up with new and easy ways to use their Fresh Takes product. Since I absolutely love working in the kitchen and really enjoy this product already, it should come as no surprise that I couldn’t wait to try some new ideas out.
My first challenge included:
Use the Italian Parmesan Fresh Take variety, include my favorite green colored side dish with the meal and use the oven for one of my dishes.
Sounds simple enough, right? It actually was.
When I started thinking about my previous experience with Kraft Fresh Take, I realized that the package contents were rather generous. They are made to use up to 2 pounds of meat which is actually quite fabulous for those with a larger family. For our family of five including three small children 6 and under, it really was much more than we needed. We typically use only 1 pound of meat at a meal and I found I was wasting a lot of the delicious cheese and crumb mixture.
With that in mind, I set out to create a meal that would use all of my Fresh Take product.
Last weekend was the perfect opportunity to try out my meal. The older boys went outside with their dad to play in the snow and I thought an early dinner would be a perfect way to greet them when they came back inside.
My youngest Wesley watched me work from his highchair, playing with toys and keeping me on my toes as I continued to offer him kitchen utensils to play with. Thankfully the meal didn’t really take all that long to prep and he got my full attention again in no time.
I started by washing and cutting up my baby red potatoes into smaller wedges. I placed them in a baking dish and topped them with some melted butter before covering them with foil and popping them in the oven for 25 minutes. I paused to play with Wes for about 15 minutes to give those potatoes a chance to cook before resuming my dinner prep.
I got out the rest of my ingredients which were minimal. An egg in a pie plate, some green beans, melted butter and of course my Italian Parmesan Fresh Take pouch.
If you aren’t already familiar, the Fresh Take pouch divides a seasoned breadcrumb crumb mixture and cheese. Depending upon the recipe, you can either use these ingredients separate or combine them. For this recipe, I’m combining them so I mixed them up within the pouch but I reserved 2/3 of a cup for later use.
While I previously only used water to wet my chicken before dipping, I decided to go the extra special route and dipped my chicken in a beaten egg before dropping it into the Fresh Take pouch to coat and placing on a baking sheet. I then topped the remaining breading mixture already in the pouch on top of my chicken.
By this time my potatoes had cooked about 25 minutes and I pulled them out and moved them over to one side of the baking dish so I could add my green beans. Keep in mind this recipe achieve a more firm green bean and if you like yours extra soft, consider steaming them a bit in your microwave before adding them to the potatoes.
I melted a half a stick of butter and added half to the bottom of the empty side of my baking dish. I added my green beans on top of the melted butter and poured the rest of the butter over the top of the green beans. I took my reserved 2/3 cup Fresh Take mixture and topped the potatoes and green beans. Yum!
I baked both the chicken, potatoes and green beans uncovered (and at a lower temp) until the chicken was done. Because my chicken breasts were smaller it only took about 20 minutes.
(Here is an easy printout of this recipe)
- 1 pkg. (6 oz.) FRESH TAKE Italian Parmesan Recipe Cheese Breadcrumb Mix, mixed together
- 4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (approximately 1lb.)
- 1½ pounds small red potatoes, washed and cut into eighths
- 12 oz bag fresh green beans (approximately 2 cups)
- 1 stick butter
- 1 egg (optional)
- Heat oven to 450ºF.
- Place potato wedges in 13×9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top with ½ stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together Fresh Take package ingredients in bag, and remove ⅔ cup of mixture and set aside. Follow rest of Fresh Take package instructions for cooking chicken breasts, using egg option for dipping chicken if desired and placing on baking sheet.
- Remove potatoes from oven and reduce oven heat to 375ºF. Push potatoes to one side of baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons butter, melted to bottom of other side of baking dish. Place green beans on melted butter and top with another 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Top potatoes and green beans with reserved Fresh Take mixture.
- Place both chicken and potatoes with green beans dishes in oven, uncovered. Bake for 20-28 minutes or until chicken is done (165ºF) and potatoes are soft.
When I took my completed dinner out of the oven I was in amazement. Doesn’t it just look fabulous?
I assure you, it tasted fabulous as well! The crunchiness of the breadcrumbs, seasoning and the cheese gave all three parts of my meal a wonderful flavor!
I loved the flavor in the potatoes and the topping added just a little something special to my green beans.
The best part? There was absolutely no sogginess to speak of on the outside of my chicken and it was exceptionally moist! (Be sure to check your chicken a bit early so you are sure not to overcook it!)
If you have a larger family and want to still incorporate this meal idea, simply use a larger baking dish for your potatoes and green beans or bake them entirely separate. You can use two packages of Kraft Fresh Take and even use a different variety for your potatoes and beans versus your chicken if you like. Or change up the green beans with other vegetables like broccoli. The possibilities are endless and it is easy to make this meal tailored to your own family.
You can join in on the larger conversation by using the #KraftFreshTake hashtag on Twitter and Pinterest and find more great recipes at Kraft!
Be sure to watch for my next challenge and recipe post in a couple weeks and a fun giveaway is in the works as well!
*Kraft has offered compensation for my time in creating this recipe however all thoughts are my own.
About Emilie
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Yum! I used this Italian parmesan kit this week too. I made the kid chicken tenders with them, the night I used it hubby was working late and on call, I wasn’t feeling well so we didn’t try it then… but the kids all loved it! The next day my 3 year old had leftovers for lunch – she’s not much of a meat eater but even she ate them for dinner AND lunch. I cut a strip up and added it to my salad and thought it was really good that way too.
I’ve made them that way too! I was really surprised just awesome they turn out that way. Very tender and a nice and crunchy outside. We served them with pasta but I love the idea of using them for a salad, too! http://www.babylovingmama.com/2012/02/kraft-fresh-takes-cheese-and-breading-mix-makes-dinner-easy.html
What did you serve yours with?
Since just the kids were eating that night, they were happy with a variety of cut up veggies – tomatoes, cucumbers, bell beppers and broccoli. My son dips his veggies in ranch, but my girls LOVE cut up fresh veggies… my 3 year old will pick bell peppers over just about anything
I love how fast and easy this product is such easy cleanup
Me, too! Super easy. And it is nice they have so many flavor varieties to experiment with!
That looks great! My kids love a recipe I make with breaded chicken. I’m sure they’d LOVE this, too. What’s not to love about seasoned cheese. YUM!
I will have to try this. The chicken looks great! My family will really enjoy this, I think.
Thanks!
I want to try this very soon. End result looks so delicious. The Fresh Take is new to me and will look for it in the supermarket
i wanna try this tonight with the new chicken i just bought!
The Italian Parmesan Chicken looks delicious! I’ve never tried making chicken this way before, but it looks pretty simple!
that looks so good,ive got to give this one a try for sure
I’ll have to try that on the green beans and potatoes too!
We have tried these several times, so good, I used one to make meatloaf one time and it was the best!
Oh, I love the idea of using it for meatloaf! Yum!
This looks simple and delicious! Perfect for those nights when I’m too tired to make a dinner that is a big production. I was not familiar with this product, thank you for introducing it to me.!
we use the southwest blend patatoes yummmm
I made this chicken for my daughter’s birthday party and it was SOOOOO good and super easy. A+++ and a really easy idea to mix and match your own ingredients for an alternative to fried chicken.
looks pretty simple..ill give it a try//
This looks so delicious! I am going to the grocery store tonight, so maybe we will give this a try this week!
I’ve tried these and love them. Even used it on pork chops which turned out great. I haven’t tried the Rosemary & Roasted garlic yet but I will.
YUMMY! I am hungry again even after having heavy dinner…
I haven’t thought about putting Kraft Fresh Takes on veggies! I’ll have to try it over some baked potatoes! Thanks for the idea!
That looks really good and simple. I have seen Kraft Fresh Take for a while now in my store but I just hadn’t paid it much attention. I definitely could see myself making this meal, love meat,potatoes, and green beans!
Ok, I’ve been seeing this in the store and on TV and I’ve definitely been wanting to try it. However, I never got around to it until now. This post with the delicious pictures made a believer out of me. Delicious. Thanks for the motivation…lol
I LOVE these, I think my husband and I have tried almost every flavor. You’re right it is super easy and it makes me feel like I’ve really cooked when it’s effortless