Chicken Parmesan

When Rick and I were deciding when to do the new pork tenderloin recipe that I've been wanting to do (it has been postponed until the weekend), we started talking about which recipes that I've made that we both love. We actually have this conversation quite often, and he always brings up the Parmesan-crusted tilapia as one of his favorites. Another one that we both agree on being in our favorites list would be Chicken Parmesan.

The first time that I made it was just prior to my starting this blog. We had gone out to dinner a couple of weeks before that, and Rick had ordered Chicken Parmesan. I left the restaurant with dinner-envy as I wished that I had ordered that instead of what I had. Don't you hate when that happens? Something wonderful came out of it, though: I started scouring the internet for the perfect Chicken Parm recipe. Luckily for me, foodnetwork.com provided a couple that I was able to combine and tinker with to create this one.  

While I was taking the pictures for this blog entry, Ty kept trying to get to see what I was up to and get to the food.  I thought I'd include the picture with him peaking up from the chair, too.  Enjoy!!

Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups of Italian bread crumbs
1 cups of panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Fresh ground black pepper
All purpose flour (for dredging)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons of reduced fat milk
Vegetable oil for frying
6 Cheese Blend grated cheese
Cheddar cheese
Marinara sauce (recipe to follow)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put each chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound them out to a uniform thickness (around 1/3 inch).

In a large bowl, mix together salt, Italian bread crumbs and panko. Season with fresh ground black pepper.

Place flour on a large plate. In another large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Dredge a chicken breast in flour and shake off excess. Next, dip the chicken breast into the egg mixture, and then dredge in the bread crumb-panko mixture, shaking off an excess. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.

In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat the oil over medium heat until it registers 400F on a deep frying thermometer. Fry one breast at a time until golden brown on each side (around 6 minutes total). Using tongs, remove the chicken from oil and place on a paper-towel covered plate.

Lightly brush a baking dish with olive oil. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with half of the marinara and place the chicken over the sauce. Cover with remaining sauce. Scatter 6 cheese blend on top, and sprinkle a little bit of cheddar cheese on top of it. Bake until sauce is bubbling and the cheese is brown (around 30 minutes). Serve immediately over the pasta of your choice.

Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
1 jar of store bought marinara sauce
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 green pepper chopped
3 gloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Italian seasoning grinder

Directions
In a medium sauce pan, heat sauce over low heat. Add basil. Stir occasionally.

In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and green pepper and season with Italian seasoning. Stir until vegetables are tender (around 5 minutes). Transfer to the sauce and raise heat under sauce to medium. Cook (stirring occasionally) for another 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.