Thursday, June 27, 2013

Chicken Parmesan

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I love two kinds of food the most.....

Mexican and Italian

My kiddos also both love Mexican and Italian.

My hubby?  Not so much.   He's more of a Steak and Potatoes guy minus the potatoes, lol.

But the whole family loves Chicken Parmesan.

I hadn't made this in forever until I had a hankering for it last week.  So I decided to try my old recipe and it was just as delicious as I remembered.

Now I know most of us are all about trying to make as much from scratch as possible in today's world of quick and easy everything, but I do believe in a few prepared foods and they include... cake mix (which I preach about almost weekly, lol) bread crumbs or Panko from a box and spaghetti or pasta sauce, because you can add all kinds of goodies to it and make it your own.

So you can now have Chicken Parmesan at home without having to go out to that fancy restaurant and your family will be truly impressed!

Here's what you need:

For the breading stations

container no. 1
1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbs. Italian herb or seasoning
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. pepper

container no. 2
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk

container no. 3
1-1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbs. Italian herb or seasoning

For the sauce
1 - 24 oz. jar of pasta sauce
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs. Italian herb or seasoning
1 tsp. granulated garlic

3 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1 to 1-1/2 cup Italian cheese blend, pre shredded
canola or vegetable oil for frying

Preheat oven to 275 degrees and line a baking sheet with a cooling rack and set aside.

In three dishes, pie dishes, paper plates, or a breading station like mine, place the ingredients for each container and mix to combine.  Set aside.
 

Place each chicken breast in a Ziploc bag and on top of a folded towel tenderize each piece by pounding it with a mallet or a meat tenderizer.  This will make the piece of chicken very large and thin.  Then cut each piece in half.
 
In a large cast iron skillet or heavy bottom skillet heat about 1/2 inch oil on medium high.
Run each piece of chicken through the containers 1, 2, then 3 coating both sides well.
Place in the hot oil carefully and cook for 6 - 8 minutes per side or until done.  If you don't tenderize the meat it will take longer due to the thickness of the breasts.
 
When you turn the chicken over it should be golden brown on each side.
When the chicken is done place it on the cooling rack that is inside of the baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm and crispy.
While the chicken is cooking pour the pasta sauce and spices into a pot and cook until simmering.
When all the chicken is cooked, drain the oil into a bowl to cool and wipe out the pan with a paper towel then return it to the stove to finish the dish, this is why cast iron is so awesome!
Place a few spoonfuls of sauce in the bottom of the pan and turn it on medium. 
Nestle the chicken into the sauce and cover with the remaining sauce on top.
 
Place a small scoop of cheese on top of each piece of chicken and cover until the cheese is melted.
 
They say necessity is the mother of invention, lol so I used my baking sheet to cover my pan because my cast iron pan is 15 inches, Yikes and doesn't have a lid that fits!
Tada!  This is a simple meal to prepare, it just takes a few minutes to gather the ingredients and tastes like you're at a fancy restaurant!  Best served with buttered, salt and peppered spaghetti noodles :) 

Serves 6

Enjoy!
Here's the handy printable - Chicken Parmesan

2 comments:

  1. I loved it it came out delicious my kids had seconds and thirds. it was a hit thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know you all enjoyed the Chicken Parm so much! We love it too :)

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