If you add a touch of salt to your boiling water and then add the pasta it keeps the pasta from sticking while it’s cooking.
To determine if the oil is hot enough drop a touch of water in the pan; if it sizzles, it is ready.
If the oil gets too “dirty” from the breading that comes off the chicken fingers change it so you don’t have burnt tasting chicken.
This is a great meal to make when you have a day off, put in the fridge, and then throw in the oven another day when you are busy.
The breaded chicken fingers alone are delicious. If you cook them on each side for about 6 min or until the chicken is 165 degrees everyone will love them.
Directions
Cook pasta, drain, then set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine bread crumbs, parmesan, and ranch in a bowl.
Combine milk, egg, and sour cream in another bowl and mix really well.
Heat pan and add enough vegetable oil to just cover the bottom.
Dip 1 chicken finger at a time in the milk mixture and then in your dry mixture. Set aside till you have them all coated.
Place as many chicken fingers in the pan as you can without them touching. You may have to do several batches.
Cook each side for 2 min or until they are golden brown then set on a plate. The goal is to not cook the chicken all the way through.
Once all of the chicken is done, combine the pasta and a jar and a half of sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish. Depending on how big your dish is you may need all of the pasta. You do want to make sure you have a quite a bit of sauce to keep the pasta from burning to the bottom of the dish.
Layer the chicken fingers on top of the pasta and pour the rest of your pasta sauce on top of the chicken.
Cover the chicken with mozzarella.
Place the dish in the oven for 30 to 35 min or until the chicken is 165 degrees and the cheese is melted.
