Chicken Parmesan

I love Chicken Parmesan. It is one of my most favorite meals at Olive Garden. I didn’t realize how easy it was to make until I tried it. I originally tried a crock pot recipe because it seemed so easy. It was really delicious! Well over time I decided I didn’t like how soggy the breadcrumbs and how soft the chicken was so I decided to do it my own way. I know there is no fancy way to make this and anyone can do it.  If you want to know how I do it, I will show you! Whenever I make it, Kevin seems so impressed that I don’t want to confess how easy and a no-brainer meal this is, so we will just keep him in the dark so I can have my WOW factor for this meal!

I always buy frozen chicken breasts because it is easier for me to keep longer and pull out as needed. Although it is one of my most un-favorite things to do, to thaw chicken (It smells and I end up washing my hands a million times out of fear of germs!) Because it is just Kevin and I, I only pull out 3-4 chicken breasts. They vary in size, so I’ll pull out 2 bigger ones and 1-2 smaller ones for leftovers or if we are extra hungry for that night.

I thaw in microwave on defrost mode and set out 2 extra containers for Italian bread crumbs and one egg mixed with a little bit of water (maybe a tablespoon)

then pour your Italian breadcrumbs into a container (mine were just seasoned breadcrumbs so I added Italian seasoning). I dipped chicken into egg then bread crumbs and put onto platter. (I forgot to add some fresh parmesan into the bread crumbs as well, I usually do that to add more parmesan taste! I buy the fresh grated kind, it is the best!)

I heat some coconut oil in a skillet on medium/high heat. I chose coconut oil not because it is “healthy” or a “fad” but I genuinely like the taste when I cook chicken with it. You can use any kind of oil.

Then fry those chickens til golden brown. about 5 minutes on each side. Mine are more brown than I’d like but they still turned out nice!

I’ve discovered that letting them cook fully then turn once helps the bread crumbs stay on and it helps become crispy. In the past I have turned them many times thinking it needed it, but that was a no-no. I’m sure these are common sense cooking knowledge but apparently I like to learn the hard way!

I then used Prego (but if you want a good homemade spaghetti sauce and have time to make it even more fancy, I use my mom’s

http://nourishedsouls.blogspot.com/2012/08/favorite-homemade-spaghetti-sauce.html

but for the sake of time and to make this a quick and easy recipe, Prego tastes great too!)

Then you spoon some sauce on each of them while still in the pan and sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheese on them. I then cover and put on low for a few minutes while the cheese melts. Take off the heat and warm the rest of sauce while you boil spaghetti noodles and WALAHH! Quick and easy filling dinner! I served it with a side of veggies.