Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan has always been one of my favorite meals. Sometimes I order it at restaurants but it’s so easy to make at home (and get very similar if not better results). It looks like a lot of steps but it’s really pretty simple. And the house smells so good all day!

Let’s make some!

First, chop up your onions and garlic. They’ll both soften up and sort of disappear into the sauce.

Let those cook in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil, just for a few minutes.

Add your olives, bay leaf and basil and cook for another 5 minutes.

If you want your sauce to be really smooth, chop your tomatoes in the food processor first.

Add tomatoes to the skillet.

Stir to combine.

Add a pinch of salt, a tsp of sugar, and some fresh ground black pepper (about 7or 8 turns).

Transfer to the Crock Pot and let it hang out on low all day or on high for a few hours.

To make the chicken, you’ll need to make a little assembly line. First your flour mixture (flour, salt, pepper) then your egg and water whisked together, then your breadcrumbs. I found a sale on thin cut chicken breasts so I went ahead and did that. If yours aren’t thin cut, just cut each one horizontally and you’re good to go.

First, dredge the chicken in the flour on both sides. Keep one hand clean for scooping more flour onto the chicken and for answering the phone. You know the phone is going to ring!

Then a quick swim in the egg bath!

And now the crunch. Press that baby into those wonderful bread crumbs. You may have to use the clean hand to scoop up some crumbs and press them lightly into the chicken. Which means you’ll have to hold the phone with your shoulder. Get someone to massage it later, you deserve it.

Stick each piece on a clean plate as you finish them. You’ll want to have them all ready at once before you start to brown them.

I use a mixture of olive and canola oils. The canola keeps the olive from burning. The olive makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing.

Heat your oil and add your breaded chicken to the pan.

 

Cook chicken on each side, about 2-4 minutes. You want it to be almost cooked through but it will continue to cook in the oven.

Transfer chicken to a casserole dish and top with sauce.

 And some parmesan cheese.

 And some mozzarella.  Bake on 375° for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your spaghetti in salted water. Drain it but don’t rinse.
Put spaghetti back into the pot you cooked it in and add some sauce to keep it from sticking.

To plate the meal, start with a portion of spaghetti, followed by sauce, then a piece of chicken.

 Like so.

They’ll think you hired a personal chef!

Linking up with:

bunsinmyoven.com   mizhelenscountrycottage   happyandblessedhome   thecountrycook.net