This is one of my favorite meals... EVER! The title is 1890 chicken. This is a family recipe dating back to my mom mom (grandma on my dad's side). Not too long ago I shared a recipe from my mom, this one is from my dad. There really is no describing how delicious this chicken is. Every time I cook it, it comes out perfect. It isn't just the chicken either, it makes a side too!
This post is dedicated to my daddy. A while before I moved away from home we started having Sunday night dinners at his house. Every Sunday night that I wasn't working, I'd join my dad for dinner. When I got married he started teaching me more about being in the kitchen. My comfort zone was baking chicken. I could spice it up, but that was where my skills were at. While my husband was deployed and I was gearing up for my big move, 1360 miles from Florida to upstate New York, my dad started giving me lessons on Sunday nights. He taught me a lot of basics, but they were things I didn't know or weren't very familiar with. He taught me about browning pork chops to pounding chicken breasts. He taught me the best way to cut an onion to the secret behind amazing chicken salad. One of the best things he taught me was to enjoy cooking and shared many family recipes with me. This particular recipe was passed down from his mom. She passed away when I was pretty young but she's definitely remembered through our cooking. Some of the best times I have had with my dad have been in the kitchen. Some of our most memorable talks have been outside by the grill. Not only cooking, but eating is kind of our thing. My dad is one of the best cooks I know. I am missing his burgers and steaks right about now. My dad and I may not have always been close, but we're closer now than ever. I miss him very much being so far away, but I think of him often while I'm spending time in the kitchen.
Alright, back to this so-called 1890 chicken. The title originated from an ingredient used to marinate the chicken and make the gravy. Originally this recipe called for 1890 dressing, which is very hard to find nowadays. My dad has adapted the recipe to achieve the closest flavor to the original recipe and I have altered it even more to fit what I like. The combination of ingredients may sound a bit peculiar, but it's amazing. Trust me and try it, you'll love it. Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cut up (this is the part I have changed, Ryan and I only eat boneless, skinless chicken breast... easy is for me. I use 4 chicken breasts if it is just Ryan and I eating and this leaves us with leftovers. If we have people over, I will use 5 or 6 chicken breasts)
1 bottle french salad dressing, sweet & spicy (I use wishbone light sweet & spicy french)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/2 bottle water (I normally fill up the dressing bottle half way and shake it up before pouring)
2 whole onions, sliced (I use 1-2 depending on what I have on hand. I generally use sweet or white onions. I normally keep the pieces thick, I cut off the ends and cut it into 8 pieces and separate them)
4 whole potatoes, cubed (big cubes are fine, I sometimes use a few more potatoes, depending on size)
Directions
- Stir dressing, soup mix and water together. Clean chicken and add to the mixture to marinate. I generally marinate this in a tupperware container. Marinate it for at least an hour or two, I normally let it marinate all day or overnight. The longer, the better!
- Cover the bottom of a casserole dish (I use a 9x13 glass casserole dish and it works perfectly) with the potatoes and onions. When you do this you can judge the amount of potatoes you'd like. I normally cut the potatoes and add them to the dish as I go and stop when its covered. Add the chicken on top of the potatoes and onions and pour the gravy on top.
- Cover with foil and cook on 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and turn chicken over. Continue cooking an additional 45 minutes.
When you take this out of the oven it will be extremely hot. This is a hearty, delicious and simple meal. One of my favorites is now one of my husbands favorites too. Ryan is always begging for this at least once a week.
If anyone is reading, I hope you make this- you won't regret it :)
<3 I love you daddy, thanks for everything you've taught me
Both of these pictures were taken at Pat's in Philly. BEST cheesesteaks EVER!
