Chicken Parmesan

A couple of years ago, a friend loaned me her personal cook book so that I could copy a recipe for something she had made for me. These are the best kinds of cookbooks--full of recipes that people make, eat and love on an every-day basis. I don't remember which recipe I borrowed the book for, but I do remember that I saw this recipe as well and knew that I must have it. I made it soon thereafter, and it's been a family favorite ever since.

This is another meal that looks fancier than it really is. It's easy to make, and while it won't win any prizes for being healthy, it will fill up even the hungriest of teenage boys. You can use whatever kind of sauce you like; I confess that part of the beauty of this meal for me is that I usually make it with a bottle of store bought sauce, which makes it very, very easy.

Although I don't think instructions to do so were included in the original recipe, I pound the chicken breasts out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Being the frugal souls that we are (and having a few little tiny girls to off set those hungry teenage boys), we've been known to get two or three servings out of a single chicken breast. It also ensures that the chicken gets cooked all the way through without drying out. Also, we like this dish saucy, so I use a 28-ounce jar of sauce and often augment that with an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce rather than the 12 ounces or so called for in the recipe. This gives us ample spaghetti sauce to put over the noodles that we serve with the chicken. Feel free to dress up the sauce; I often add some sliced, fresh mushrooms or fresh herbs like basil or oregano.

Chicken Parmesan

Serves 6

2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup Italian-flavored bread crumbs
¼ cup flour
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
6 chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 ½ cups spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
¼ cup grated parmesan
2-4 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs and milk together in shallow pie dish. Place bread crumbs in another dish close by. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Add chicken breasts to bag, one at a time. Shake to coat lightly with flour. Dip coated breast in egg mixture, letting excess drip off. Roll breasts in bread crumbs to coat well.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic cloves and cook for one minute. Push garlic to edge of skillet and add chicken to pan. Cook 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer breast to 13x9 inch baking dish. Add spaghettis sauce to same skillet and simmer for 3-4 minutes until heated through. Pour over chicken breasts and sprinkle with cheeses.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with small servings of spaghetti noodles.