Chicken Parmesan

Today my husband requested chicken parmesan. I of course readily obliged as this is also one of my favorites and any chance I have to eat fresh pasta I take it.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin

Bread crumbs (I like the Italian seasoning flavored bread crumbs)

2 Eggs

Garlic powder

Dried Oregano

Dried Basil

Salt

Black Pepper

¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

14 oz canned diced tomatoes with basil and oregano

After pounding the chicken breasts as thin as possible without tearing, dredge in egg wash seasoned with salt and pepper then coat with bread crumbs seasoned with garlic powder, oregano, basil, and parmesan cheese. Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a skillet over medium heat, once hot add each breast, one at a time, adding additional oil in between if needed. Just cook the chicken long enough to brown the bread crumbs on each side. I finish cooking the chicken in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes and I think the pan you use is critical. I put a cookie cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet and cook the chicken on the rack. This way the juices run out into the cookie sheet and the breading stays intact. I hate it when the breading gets soggy and comes off, this keeps it crispy.

For the sauce I cheat a little and use canned diced tomatoes with basil and oregano. I pulse it in the blender to break down the big chunks and season to taste with more basil, oregano, garlic powder and salt.

Serves 2, the vast majority of the calories in this are in the chicken, so you can set your calories based on how big of a piece of chicken you use. For 2 large chicken breasts it will be about 750 calories.

I think the most important tip you should take from today is not to be intimidated by homemade pasta. Making pasta is not that difficult and it is well worth the effort. Once every month or two I make a big batch and then separate it into 2-4 serving sizes in individual baggies and throw it in the freezer. An hour or so before I need to cook the pasta I put the baggy in a bowl filled with warm water to thaw it. This way I can have fresh pasta any time and rolling out the pasta once it’s thawed might add 10 minutes to your time in the kitchen versus using dried pasta. I promise that 10 minutes is worth it. I will post my pasta recipe another day.

To go with this I made a spinach salad with carrots, feta cheese, dried apricots, pine nuts and a red wine vinegar/olive oil dressing.