Chicken Parmesan

Chicken parm is my "go-to" dish every time we go to an Italian restaurant.  So, I decided that today I would try to make my first home made chicken parmigiana.  (I always think it sounds fancier to call it "chicken parmigiana!)  I searched through tons and tons of recipes on the web and decided that lots of them called for way too many ingredients and way too much time in the kitchen.  A note about me- I tend to look for recipes that have the best looking photo with the shortest list of ingredients.  Therefore, I decided to take a few recipes, throw them together and make one of my own.

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts

extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp oregano

1 24 oz jar onion and garlic spaghetti sauce

1 16 oz can diced tomatoes

salt and freshly cracked pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon water

3/4 cup dried Italian bread crumbs

1 (8oz) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella

freshly grated Parmesan

1 pound spaghetti 

Directions:

Sauce:

1.  Coat a sauce pan with olive oil and place over medium heat.  
2.  Saute' the chopped onions until translucent. 

3.  Add diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, basil, oregano and salt & pepper to taste.  
4.  Mix together, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Chicken:

1.  Butterfly the chicken breasts and pound out using a meat mallet to 1/2" thick.  

2.  Put the flour in a shallow platter and mix in a fair amount of salt and fresh cracked pepper.

3.  In a wide bowl, mix two well beaten eggs with 1 tbs of water.

4.  Pour the bread crumbs onto a platter and, using a fork, mix in some freshly grated Parmesan.  

5.  Dredge the chicken in the flour, dunk in the egg wash, let the excess drip off and then dredge in the bread crumbs to coat.  

6.  Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium - high heat.  Once the oil is hot, cook the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side, turning once.  They should be a nice golden brown.  


Now you're ready to put it all together: 

1.  Ladle just enough sauce to cover the bottom of a large 13x9 casserole dish.  Lay the chicken down over the sauce.  Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken.  
2.  Top with Mozzarella cheese and shred a bit more Parmesan to top it all off.  
3.  Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, until the cheese is nice and bubbly.  Serve over spaghetti.

I know I learn better with pictures.....so please see below!