Chicken Parmesan

This is one of my favorite meals that Brandon makes.  I LOVE Italian food and this crispy, buttery, cheesy chicken parmesan recipe is amazing! It is one of our "Weekend Meals" (not the healthiest of choices).  This recipe makes enough for 6 people so we have cooked it for friends (they loved it), but the left overs are awesome!  Brandon likes to make chicken parm sandwiches the next day with the sweet hawaiian buns from the grocery store.  So good!

This recipe is adapted from SimplyScratch, another one of our favorite blogs.

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 eggs
pepper
1 sleeve whole wheat crackers (like ritz)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more if needed (we always need more)
2 cloves garlic, mined
2 (14.5 oz each) cans tomato sauce
1 tablespoon basil, finely chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
6 slices Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 box of spaghetti noodles

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2) Crush up the sleeve of crackers using a food processor until it looks like bread crumbs.  If you do not have a food processor, you can easily do this by putting the crackers in a large ziplock bag and pounding it with your hand.  Season the cracker crumbs with salt.  Spread crumbs on a plate and set aside.


3)  Whisk together the 2 eggs and a pinch of pepper.  Dip each breast half into the egg mixture, coating both sides, then dip into the crumbs and coat both sides.  Repeat with each piece of chicken until all are coated.

4) In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add two of the chicken breast halves at a time and cook for 3-4 mins per side, until a deep golden brown and crispy.  Flip the chicken and do the same to the other side.  Once both sides have been cooked, place the chicken on a paper towel lined plate and repeat until all pieces of chicken have been fried.  You may have to add oil to the pan as you fry

5)  After all the chicken has been fried to crispy deliciousness, place the peices of chicken in the prepared baking dish.

6) Reduce heat to low, wipe out the pan with a paper towel (be careful!) and add a splash of olive oil to the pan.  Sauté the garlic cloves for about 1 minute and then add in the 2 cans of tomato sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of the basil and the oregano.  Cook over medium heat for about 7 minutes and then add the butter to the sauce.  Stir it in until it melts.

7)  Pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the chicken in the baking dish.  You do not want to completely cover each piece of chicken, but every piece should have some sauce on it.  Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the chicken.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins. (leave leftover sauce in the pan until noodles are cooked)

8)  While you are waiting, go ahead and get your water ready for your noodles and cook them according to the package.  Drain and toss them in the tomato sauce over low heat to keep warm.

9) After the chicken has cooked for 30 mins, top with slices of mozzarella cheese.  Recover and put the pan back into the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Serve over the pasta.

Enjoy!



This recipe is adapted from www.simplyscratch.com