Chicken Parmigiana

I got this recipe from OnceAMonthMom.com which has recipes you can make and freeze to eat later. The first time I made it Christopher remarked that it tasted like something you would eat at a restaurant. It is not healthy but I have to admit it is delicious! Hope you enjoy it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts. I like to use chicken tenders because it means I get to skip the step where you pound the chicken to 1/4 inch thick.

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs. I like to use the Italian bread crumbs and I use much more than called for. I just make sure each chicken piece is evenly coated.

1/2 cup cooking oil

32 ounces canned tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded. I like to use the shredded Italian cheese blend.

One box of thin spaghetti noodles.


DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken breasts on cutting board, pound lightly until 1/4 inch thick (skip this step if using chicken tenders).

Combine lightly beaten eggs, salt and pepper. Dip chicken into egg mixture and then bread crumbs.

Heat oil in skillet until hot. Quickly cook breaded chicken, browning on both sides and then place chicken in a shallow baking dish. I use a 9 x 13 baking pan. You do not need to cook the chicken all the way through, just brown it on the outside. Repeat with all the chicken breasts.

In the same skillet (with remaining oil and loose bread crumbs) stir in tomato sauce and garlic powder, heat to boiling. Simmer 10 minutes until thickened.

Stir butter into tomato sauce, then pour over chicken in baking pan.

Sprinkle chicken with parmesan cheese, cover with mozzarella (or Italian blend) cheese and cover with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes longer.

Serve over cooked thin spaghetti noodles.

*One note I want to add about this is that I like having more tomato sauce than this recipe calls for, otherwise there is not enough sauce to coat all of the noodles I serve with the chicken. In the past I have added 1-2 cans of petite diced tomatoes to the spaghetti sauce while it simmers for 10 minutes. Doing this made enough sauce but it also changed the flavor of the sauce and it did not taste as good as it does by following the original directions. I think next time I make this I will follow the directions for the sauce and pour over chicken as directed. While that is baking in the oven I will make additional sauce on the stove that I can put on the noodles if they don't seam coated enough. I'll use the same skillet pan, stir in 32 ounces of tomato sauce and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder then heat to boiling. Then I'll simmer 10 minutes until thickened and stir 2 Tablespoons butter into tomato sauce and serve with noodles.